North Luzon Expressway
The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX),' signed as E1 of the Philippine expressway network, partially as N160 of the Philippine highway network, and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network,' is a limited-access toll expressway that connects Metro Manila to the provinces of the Central Luzon region in the Philippines. The expressway, which includes the main segment and its various spurs, has a total length of and travels from its northern terminus at Sta. Ines Interchange to its southern terminus in Balintawak Interchange, which connects it to the Skyway, an elevated toll road that connects the  NLEX to its counterpart in the south, the South Luzon Expressway. The segment of the expressway between Santa Rita Exit in Guiguinto and the Balintawak Interchange in Quezon City is part of Asian Highway 26 of the Asian highway network. The expressway also serves as a major utility corridor, carrying various high voltage overhead power lines through densely populated areas where land and right of way acquisition for a normal power line is impractical. A notable power line using the expressway's right of way for most or part of the route is the Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak transmission line from  San Fernando Exit in San Fernando, Pampanga to Smart Connect Interchange in Valenzuela, Metro Manila. The San Simon–Pulilan section of the expressway, which includes Candaba Viaduct, serves as the right of way of the relocated San Simon–Pulilan section of Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak line since February 18, 2008 for portions that use lattice towers (255, 256, 266, and 267) which acquired by the government-owned National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) and January 15, 2009 for portions using steel poles (228–254; 257–265; 268–289) which were acquired by the privately-owned National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), as the said transmission  line segment is relocated due to the widening of MacArthur Highway, where the steel poles posed a safety hazard. The North Luzon Expressway was built in the 1960s as part of the government's program to develop areas adjacent to Metro Manila, with NLEX serving the north. The expressway was originally controlled by the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC), until the expressway's operations and maintenance was transferred in February 10, 2005, to the NLEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (a former subsidiary of the Lopez Group of Companies until 2008). The expressway was expanded and rehabilitated  from 2003 to February 2005, modernizing the road and its facilities. Route description. NLEX Main. The North Luzon Expressway's main segment, called the North Luzon Tollway (NLT) or NLEX Main, cuts northwards from Manila to the provinces in Central Luzon. The expressway begins in Quezon City as a four lane road at the Balintawak Interchange with EDSA as a continuation of A. Bonifacio Avenue. The main segment spans , passing through Caloocan and Valenzuela in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga in Central Luzon. It currently ends in Mabalacat. The NLEX runs parallel to the MacArthur Highway , formerly the Manila North Road. From Balintawak, the NLEX follows a straight north route, with sections lined by billboards. The N160 concurrency ends with the route near the Eternal Gardens Memorial Park in Caloocan, just below the Skyway and its Balintawak Exit. The expressway then bends westward at Smart Connect Interchange in Valenzuela and in Tambubong Interchange in Bocaue, Bulacan. The following exit, Tabang, leads passengers to the Tabang Spur Road. The Tabang Spur Road is a four-lane, spur road in Bulacan that branches off NLEX Main at Tabang Exit in Balagtas and terminates at a partial cloverleaf interchange  with MacArthur Highway and Cagayan Valley Road at Guiguinto Exit in Guiguinto. The spur road carried the final leg of the expressway until the present route was extended to Pampanga. The expressway narrows to three lanes per direction past Tabang Exit. It continues on a straight route, traversing paddy fields on the outskirts of Guiguinto, Malolos, and Pulilan. The Asian Highway 26 (AH26) concurrency leaves NLEX at Santa Rita Exit, where it follows Maharlika Highway, also known as Cagayan Valley Road, towards Baliuag and Cagayan Valley. A few meters after Pulilan Exit is the Candaba Viaduct (officially known as Pulilan -Apalit Bridge). The bridge traverses rice paddies and swampland in the municipalities of Pulilan, Calumpit, Bulacan and Apalit, Pampanga, and crosses Pampanga River before the viaduct ends. The expressway continues again on a straight alignment. After San Fernando Exit, the expressway narrows into two lanes per direction. It continues a mostly straight and gently winding route through the rural areas of Mexico, crossing Abacan and Quitangil rivers, and traversing the eastern parts of Angeles and Mabalacat. NLEX connects with Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway via Clark Spur Road before the main line terminates at Sta. Ines Interchange, with a toll plaza  serving the exit. NLEX Harbor Link. Collectively known as the North Luzon Expressway Harbor Link Project (NLEX Harbor Link Project), these series of expressways connect the North Luzon Expressway to various points in Metro Manila. It currently runs from Mindanao Avenue in Valenzuela to Radial Road 10 in Navotas, linking the North Luzon Expressway to the Port of Manila. Once completed, it will run from Katipunan Avenue, a component of Circumferential Road 5, in Quezon City at the east. History. Planning and construction. The original stretch of the expressway, from Balintawak Interchange in Quezon City up to Guiguinto Exit in  Bulacan, was completed on August 4, 1968. It is a fully fenced limited-access highway that consisted of a four-lane rural divided roadway, nine twin bridges, one railroad overpass, seven underpasses, and three interchanges. Originally a project of the Department of Public Works and Highways, the completion of the major portion of the job fell on the Construction Development Corporation of the Philippines (CDCP, the precursor to PNCC) to pioneer the toll concept of funding infrastructure. It was carried out under the private financing scheme provided by Republic Act No. 3741. Additional work required by the government included the  construction of the Balintawak – Novaliches Interchange Complex, the Tabang Interchange, and the approach road of the underpasses. In 1976, the NLT extension, consisting of of concrete road, was built as part of a highways program of the International Bank for Reconstruction Development (World Bank) linking major urban centers to the production centers in the north. The project features a 4-lane limited-access highway with a Candaba Viaduct, a construction innovation utilizing precast beam system, 6 interchanges, 12 bridges, and overpass/underpass structures. Between 1986 and 1991, under the Corazon Aquino administration, the expressway was extended by another from its  terminus at Dau Exit to Sta. Ines Exit in Mabalacat, Pampanga. In 1998, Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) was granted the concession for the expressway, manifested in a Supplementary Toll Operation Agreement (STOA). Under the STOA, the government confirmed the assignment by PNCC of its usufructuary rights, interest and privileges over the existing expressway, including all extensions, linkages and diversions in favor of MNTC. These concession rights authorized MNTC to construct, finance, manage, operate and maintain all the project roads and charge tolls thereon. Expansion and rehabilitation. From February 2003 to February 2005, the expressway underwent a major rehabilitation. Works  included the widening of the Balintawak–Tabang segment from 6 to 8 lanes and the Tabang–Sta. Rita segment from 4 to 6 lanes, asphalt overlay, and the demolition of old tollbooths. The main contractor of the rehabilitation work was Leighton Asia with Egis Projects as the main subcontractor for the toll, telecommunication and traffic management systems. To help maintain the safety and quality of the expressway, various rules are in effect, such as restricting the left lane to passing vehicles only and banning overloaded trucks. On February 10, 2005, commercial operations began following the Toll Regulatory Board's issuance  of the Toll Operation Permit. On the same day, the operation and maintenance of the expressway was transferred from the government-owned Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) to the Manila North Tollways Corporation, which would later become known as NLEX Corporation. On February 12, 2007, the entire stretch of the expressway began another rehabilitation regarding its drainage systems. Within this period, certain lanes of the road were closed to the traffic. This in turn caused massive traffic jams along the road and the speed limit on the construction sites were reduced from and , respectively, to . The program was finished on  October 7, 2007. Further extensions. On June 5, 2010, NLEX Segment 8.1 or NLEX Mindanao Avenue Link was opened. The new spur road of NLEX is a part of the C-5 Road North Extension and is built to provide another entry point to the expressway from Metro Manila and decongest Balintawak Interchange. On March 18, 2015, NLEX Segment 9 or the NLEX Karuhatan Link was opened, providing continuation to Segment 8.1 that runs from the other side of the Smart Connect Interchange to MacArthur Highway in Karuhatan, Valenzuela. On February 28, 2019, the main stretch of NLEX Segment 10 or  the NLEX Harbor Link, from Karuhatan to C-3 Road, was opened to traffic. On February 21, 2020, its C3–R10 Section was partially opened up to its Malabon exit ramp; the remaining section to Radial Road 10 was opened on June 15, 2020. Proposed renaming. The main expressway has been a subject of some legislative measures for its proposed renaming. These were filed to commemorate to the historical significance and contributions of its intended namesakes, respectively. However, none has taken effect to date, as these await a counterpart measure from the Senate before it can be signed into law by  the President of the Philippines. On May 10, 2015, the House Committee on Public Works and Highways approved House Bill No. 4820 that seeks to rename the expressway to President Corazon C. Aquino Expressway (CAEX), in honor of former President Corazon Aquino, who was regarded as an icon of democracy. It was authored by Magnolia Rosa Antonino-Nadres, the then-representative from the 4th district of Nueva Ecija. On May 13, 2019, the House of Representatives passed on third and final reading the House Bill No. 8958 that seeks to rename the expressway to the Marcelo H. del Pilar Expressway  (MHDPEX), in honor of Marcelo H. del Pilar, a revolutionary writer and patriot from Bulacan. The bill is principally authored by Bulacan's 1st district representative Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado. Future. NLEX Connector. Plans for a construction of an elevated road to connect North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) has been bared long before the construction of NLEX Connector. The government reportedly accepted the unsolicited proposal from Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corporation (MPTDC) to build the road. MPTDC is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), which runs NLEX. This would later be known as the  NLEX Connector Road project, the elevated expressway which will have run over the Philippine National Railways tracks from the existing Segment 10 (Harbor Link) in Caloocan to the future interchange with Skyway Stage 3 near the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) campus in Santa Mesa, Manila. Construction of the project is estimated to cost , but as an "all-elevated" or completely grade-separated structure, right-of-way acquisition shall be reduced to an estimated cost of only . Once completed, the Connector Road will have four entry and exit points: the Caloocan Interchange, C-3 Road in Caloocan, España in Sampaloc , Manila, and terminating at the Skyway Stage 3 in Santa Mesa, Manila. It broke ground on February 28, 2019, at the same time NLEX Connector was inaugurated and opened to traffic, officially indicating that the NLEX Karuhatan Link and Segment 10 are mostly complete. Section 1, spanning from Caloocan to España is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2022, while Section 2, also known as the Sta. Mesa Section spanning from España to Santa Mesa is expected to be completed by the end of the same year. Its construction takes into consideration the upcoming parallel construction of  the southern segment of the North–South Commuter Railway. Groundbreaking of Section 2, spanning from España to Santa Mesa was held on December 14, 2021. The civil works of Section 2 would be handled by China Road and Bridge Corporation. Construction of Section 2 began on February 8, 2022. As of December 2021, the project is 60% complete. NLEX Phase 3. NLEX Phase 3 would be a extension with three segments from NLEX Main, originally in San Simon, Pampanga, to Dinalupihan, Bataan, connecting to Subic Bay Freeport Zone via Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway. However, the plan did not push through . It would instead start somewhere between Apalit and San Fernando in Pampanga, then will cut across Guagua and end at Dinalupihan. Though the project will start tentatively from Apalit based on the concession, the new alignment has yet to be finalized. New Manila International Airport link. Pillars are built on NLEX between its Balintawak toll plaza and Skyway Stage 3's Balintawak/NLEX off-ramp to accommodate a future toll road to the New Manila International Airport in Bulakan, Bulacan. The future project, to be built by San Miguel Corporation, will expand the capacity of NLEX by adding new 4 -5 lanes up to Marilao, which was selected for another toll road to the future airport. After the completion of this elevated toll road, NLEX will have 11-13 lanes total (3-4 lanes per direction on NLEX + 5 lanes on the elevated segment) from Balintawak Cloverleaf to Marilao, ultimately bypassing the NLEX's open section. Tolls. The tollway has two sections: an open section and a closed section. The open section charges a flat toll based on vehicle class and is employed to reduce the number of toll barriers (and associated bottlenecks) within Metro Manila. The closed section  is distance-based, charging based on the class of vehicle and distance traveled. When the expressway was modernized, an electronic toll collection system was set up for Class 1 vehicles while prepaid magnetic cards were assigned to Class 2 and 3 vehicles to speed up transactions at toll booths. These have since been replaced by a unified ETC system operated by Easytrip Services Corporation. Also, with the government's thrust towards toll road interoperability, Autosweep of the San Miguel Corporation which operates SLEX, Skyway, STAR, NAIAX, and TPLEX has been accepted as a mode of payment in NLEX since March  2018. Services. Emergency phones and parking bays. Emergency telephone boxes are located throughout the whole length of the expressway. Parking bays (lay-bys) are also placed on regular intervals on the expressway, for use in emergency situations. Service areas. North Luzon Expressway has eleven service areas, mostly located on the closed toll section north of Bocaue. Each service station hosts a gas station, restaurants, and a convenience store, as well as ATMs and restrooms, car repair, and lubrication services. Exits. Exit numbers are based on kilometer post. Exits begin at 10 because the NLEx is a logical continuation of A.  Bonifacio Avenue. Rizal Park in Manila is designated as Kilometer Zero.