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NLEX. Motorists returning from the Holy Week break experience traffic at the North Luzon Expressway's Bocaue Toll Plaza on April 10, 2023. The NLEX is a Metro Pacific tollway.
Jire Carreon/Rappler/file photo
NLEX Corporation has since provided alternative routes for motorists going to and from Bulacan or Pampanga.
MANILA, Philippines – Motorists should expect heavy traffic at the Marilao interchange bridge of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) as repairs on its northbound lanes could last at least two weeks.
“Ang gawaan po ay ini-expect na mga between two to three weeks po. Kailangan po talaga madaliin po ito para bago mag Holy Week, ay maayos na na nadadaanan lahat ‘yung [lanes] natin,” NLEX & SCTEX Traffic Operations Department Head Robin Ignacio told TeleRadyo Serbisyo on Thursday, March 20.
(The repair work is expected to last between two to three weeks. It needs to be done quickly so that all lanes could be used before Holy Week.)
This comes after an 18-wheeler truck struck the bridge while passing on Wednesday, March 19. Two bridge girders — or the beams underneath that support the bridge — sustained “severe damage.”
Ignacio said they plan on suing the truck driver for reckless imprudence resulting in damage of property. The truck did not pass through the designated truck lane and failed to go through expressway employees who were measuring the height of the trucks passing by for clearance.
Meanwhile, Ignacio said they were also considering suing the truck operator.
In a statement on its Facebook page, NLEX Corporation — the operator of the expressway and a subsidiary of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation — said it planned to open a zipper lane on the southbound side of the bridge to help ease traffic flow “when feasible.”
As of 7 pm on Thursday evening, NLEX said vertical steel supports were placed beneath the bridge on sections that were affected by the incident. There are currently three usable northbound lanes.
The operator has since provided alternative routes for motorists going to and from Bulacan or Pampanga.
For those going to Bulacan/Pampanga:
- Take the NLEX Karuhatan Exit through the NLEX Harbor Link Interchange/NLEX Paso de Blas NB Exit/NLEX Meycauayan NG Exit to MacArthur Highway
- Enter again via NLEX CDV Northbound or through NLEX Bocaue Interchange
For motorists heading to Manila:
- Head to the NLEX Bocaue Southbound Interchange Exit or NLEX CDV Southbound Exit
- Turn right and head to MacArthur Highway and enter the expressway via the NLEX Meycauayan Southbound
NLEX has also been posting hourly traffic updates on social media. – Rappler.com
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