North Luzon Expressway

North Luzon Expressway
North Diversion Road
Marcelo H. del Pilar Superhighway

Map of expressways in Luzon, with the North Luzon Expressway in red
Route information
Maintained by Tollways Management Corporation
Length: 84.0 km (52.2 mi)
Component
highways:
Major junctions
North end:
South end:
Location
Major cities:
Towns:
Highway system
Highways in the Philippines
The Santa Ines-bound NLEX, just north of Paso de Blas, Valenzuela.

The North Luzon Expressway (NLE or NLEx), formerly known as the North Diversion Road and Manila North Expressway (MNEX), is a 2 to 8-lane limited-access toll expressway that connects Metro Manila to the provinces of the Central Luzon region in the Philippines. It is a component of Radial Road 8 (R-8) of Metro Manila's road network. Its southern section from Guiguinto to Metro Manila is also designated as Expressway 1 (E1) of the Pan-Philippine Highway (AH26). It was built in the 1960s.

The expressway begins in Quezon City at the Balintawak Interchange with EDSA: a continuation of Andres Bonifacio Avenue. It then passes through Quezon City, Caloocan, and Valenzuela in Metro Manila. Meycauayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiguinto, Malolos, Plaridel, and Pulilan, Calumpit in Bulacan. Apalit, San Simon, San Fernando, Mexico and Angeles in Pampanga. The expressway currently ends at Mabalacat and merges with the MacArthur Highway, which continues northward into the rest of Central and Northern Luzon. The segment between Santa Rita Exit and Balintawak Cloverleaf is a part of the new alignment of the Pan-Philippine Highway (AH26)

There is a proposed direct interchange between the North Luzon Expressway and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. The interchange is located 3 km. north of Sta. Ines Exit. Currently, the Spur/NLE exit served as the connection between the expressway and the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway via Clark Spur Road.

The expressway, including Andres Bonifacio Avenue, has total length of 88 kilometers. The expressway segment has a length of 84 kilometres.

Originally controlled by the Philippine National Construction Corporation or PNCC, operation and maintenance of the NLEx was transferred in 2005 to the Manila North Tollways Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (formerly, it was the subsidiary of the Lopez Group of Companies until 2008). A major upgrade and rehabilitation has been completed in February 2005 and the road has now similar qualities as a modern French tollway. The main contractor of the rehabilitation work was Leighton Contractors Pty. Ltd (Australia) with Egis Projects, a company belonging to the French Groupe Egis 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.

Expansion

Segment 8.1

The NLEx Segment 8.1 or the NLEX Mindanao Avenue Link is a four lane, 2.34 kilometer expressway that runs from Mindanao Avenue to the SMART Connect Interchange in Valenzuela City. This is an alternate route to NLEx from Manila. This segment opened to traffic on June 5, 2010. This segment is a part of C-5 Road North Extension.

Segment 8.2

The NLEx Segment 8.2 will connect NLEx segment 8.1 to the Congressional Avenue and Luzon Avenue. MNTC is ready to undertake its next road project called NLEX C-5 Link that will connect the north to the south via C-5, Rodrigo E. Franco, MNTC president announced Franco said the new project is an important section of the Manila North Expressway concession of MNTC. The 10.23-km NLEX C-5 Link will connect the NLEX main to C-5 through Mindanao Ave. Estimated cost is at ₱6.1 billion, inclusive of operating equipment and other facilities with commercial operations expected to begin by 2019.

Ramon S. Fernandez, MPTC president, said the project “represents MPTC’s continuing commitment in investing in projects that will promote economic development in both the urban areas and in the countryside.”

Earlier, MNTC completed a 2.7 km expressway that links the NLEX main to Mindanao Avenue with the country’s largest cloverleaf interchange called Smart Connect Interchange as its main feature.

When completed, NLEX C-5 Link will dramatically decongest traffic along Commonwealth Avenue and Quezon Avenue – the normal route of southbound motorists from northwest of Metro Manila. This will significantly cut down travel time and generate savings on fuel and vehicle wear and tear.

Segment 9

The NLEX Segment 9 or the NLEX Karuhatan Link is a four lane, 4.06 kilometer expressway that runs from the SMART Connect Interchange to MacArthur Highway. This segment opened to traffic on March 18, 2015 and a part of C-5 Road North Extension.

Segment 10.1

This Segment will connect NLEX Karuhatan Link and NLEX-SLEX Connector Road/Segment 10.2 to the Manila North Harbor. This segment will be open to traffic on July 2017.

NLEX-SLEX Connector Road (Segment 10.2)

There are plans for a construction of an elevated road to connect North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

The government has reportedly accepted an unsolicited proposal from Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. (MPTDC) to build the 13.24-kilometer road. MPTDC is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), which runs NLEX. This segment will be open to traffic on September 2020.

Known as the Connector Road project, the elevated expressway will have run over the Philippine National Railways tracks until terminating to the Skyway Stage 3 Interchange.

It will be connected in the north to Segment 10, which will soon be constructed through the cities of Caloocan and Valenzuela. In the south, it will be linked to the skyway near Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia) in Makati City. Once completed, the Connector Road will have four entry and exit points: C-3 Road in Caloocan, España, Quirino Avenue in Manila and terminating through the Skyway Stage 3 Interchange in Sta, Mesa Manila.

Construction of the project is estimated to cost ₱17 billion, but as an "all-elevated" structure, right-of-way acquisition shall be reduced to an estimated cost of only ₱2.41 billion. Construction is anticipated to start when NLEX Karuhatan Link and Segment 10 are complete.

NLEX Phase 3

Consists of three Segments with an approximate length of 58 km from San Simon, Pampanga to Dinalupihan, Bataan connecting to Segment 7 in Subic Freeport.

Technical specifications

Tolls

Bocaue Toll Plaza in Bulacan.

The tollway has two sections: an open section and a closed section.[1] The open section (within Metro Manila) charges a flat toll based on vehicle class and is employed to reduce the number of toll barriers (and associated bottlenecks) within the metropolis. 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. As of October 1, 2011, all tolls (as shown below) include the 12% Value-Added Tax (VAT).

Class Open System
(Balintawak-Marilao)		 Closed System
(Tabang-Sta.Ines)
Class 1
(Cars, Motorcycles, SUVs, Jeepneys)		 ₱45 ₱2.38/km
Class 2
(Buses, Light Trucks)		 ₱114 ₱5.95/km
Class 3
(Heavy Trucks)		 ₱136 ₱7.14/km

Features

A typical section of NLEX near the Santa Rita interchange in Guiguinto.
NLEX rumble strips approaching Balintawak Toll Barrier.

Technical Information

Lanes

NLEX in San Simon. The portion of NLEX in Pampanga is a four-lane expressway.

The NLEX has 8 lanes, which has 4 lanes in both directions from the Balintawak to Burol segment, 6 lanes with 3 lanes for both directions on the Burol to Sta. Rita segment and 4 lanes with 2 lanes for both directions on the Tabang Spur, Sta. Rita to Dau segment. There is even a part of the NLEX which consists of only 2 lanes, one for each direction. This segment is located after passing through the SCTEx Exit (Northbound).

Beginning February 2016, the Manila North Tollways Corporation will undertake road expansion in certain segments of the expressway. The segment from Santa Rita to San Fernando will be expanded from four to six lanes while the SCTEx-Santa Ines segment will be expanded from two to four lanes.[2]

Speed limit

100 km/h for cars and jeepneys, 80 km/h for trucks and buses, and 60 km/h is the minimum for all classes of vehicles. Speed limits are strictly enforced via CCTV cameras and speed guns, and speeders are usually identified as soon as they hit the tollbooth.

Major upgrade

San Fernando Toll Plaza in Pampanga, before the 2005 rehabilitation.

The upgrade consisted of rebuilding of roads and building new toll plazas. Launched in the beginning of 2003 and completed in February 2005, the roadway now has modern features explained above.

Drainage Enhancement Program

The entire stretch of the expressway underwent another rehabilitation regarding its drainage systems. The expressway is known to be flooded during the rainy season and the goal of the project is to fix the drainage systems within the road to prevent flooding. 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 80/100 km/h to 60 km/h.

The program started on 12 February 2007 and finished on 7 October 2007.

Shareholder companies

Pop Culture

Exits

Toll booth at the Meycauayan Exit.

Exit numbers are based on kilometer post. Exits begin at 9 because the NLEx is a logical continuation of Andres Bonifacio Avenue. Rizal Park is designated as Kilometer Zero.

Current Exits

Kilometer No. Exit Interchange type Location Remarks
9 Balintawak Interchange Cloverleaf (End of Expressway) Quezon City Southbound traffic defaults onto Andres Bonifacio Avenue, to Caloocan (East Grace Park) and is the expressway's interchange with Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) over elevated Light Rail Transit (LRT-1). Going right is going to Manila, Navotas, and Malabon and going left is going to Quezon City proper, Marikina, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati and Pasay. Before NLEX was built, It was a roundabout connecting EDSA, A. Bonifacio Avenue and Quirino Highway.
10
Northbound		 Novaliches Exit Half Y Northbound exit only. This exit is directly connected to Quirino Highway (R-8 Alternate). It is an alternate route to other parts of Quezon City and Bulacan province. Motorists from EDSA northbound must take the service road to Quirino Highway.
11
Southbound		 Libis Baesa Exit One-way Exit Ramp Caloocan (South) Southbound exit only. This serves as an alternate route for vehicles going to Caloocan and Malabon cities and to Quirino Highway through Baesa, Quezon City and Santa Quiteria, Caloocan.
12
Northbound		 Balintawak Toll Plaza Proceeding northbound, motorists pay the open system toll at this plaza. If the motorist exits on or before Marilao Exit, it will encounter no further plazas. Beyond this, motorists enter the closed system and will pay the closed system's toll at the toll plaza for their exit. There is a runaway truck ramp next to the toll plaza. The corporate offices of Manila North Tollways Corporation and Tollways Management Corporation are also located here.
13 Smart Connect Interchange Cloverleaf Valenzuela Formerly named NLEx-C5/Mindanao Avenue Link Interchange. Eastbound goes to Mindanao Avenue (NLEx segment 8.1), Westbound goes to MacArthur Highway and Navotas (NLEx Segments 9 and 10).
14
NLEx Segment 9		 Gen. T. de Leon Exit Folded Diamond Exits to Captain Cruz Street in Barangay Gen. T. de Leon.
15 Paso de Blas Exit Diamond Exits to Maysan Road and formerly named Malinta Exit. West goes to Malinta, Valenzuela proper and MacArthur Highway. East goes to Bagbaguin and Novaliches in Caloocan (North) and Quezon City. Renamed to Paso de Blas Exit with the opening of Karuhatan Exit.
16
NLEx Segment 8.1
Westbound		 Mindanao Avenue Toll Plaza This toll plaza is at the end of the NLEx Segment 8.1.
16
NLEx Segment 9		 Karuhatan Exit Three Way Intersection Exits to MacArthur Highway in Barangay Karuhatan. Opened on 19 March 2015.
16
Southbound		 Caltex Service Area This service area has a convenience store and 3 restrooms. The tollway plaza here never existed.
17
NLEx Segment 8.1		 Mindanao Avenue Exit Three Way Intersection This exit goes to Mindanao Avenue, Staying on the inner lane leads to the underpass under the intersection and staying on the outer lane leads to the Mindanao Avenue - Quirino Highway Intersection.
17
Northbound		 Lawang Bato Exit One-Way Exit Road Northbound exit/No entrance. This is only a temporary exit. This will be replaced by the proposed Canumay Exit.
20 Meycauayan Exit Folded Diamond with Roundabouts Meycauayan, Bulacan Exits to Malhacan Road. Southwest goes to Obando and to Meycauayan proper. Northeast goes to barangays Libtong and Iba.
22
Northbound		 Petron Service Station Marilao, Bulacan
23 Marilao Exit Four-ramp Parclo This is the last exit on the open system. The closed system begins north of here. Exits to C. Santiago Street. West goes to San Jose del Monte. East goes to Marilao town proper.
25
Northbound		 Philippine Arena Exit Bocaue, Bulacan Northbound exit only/No entrance. This exit will serve as a direct access to the Philippine Arena and Ciudad de Victoria.
26
Southbound		 Bocaue Toll Plaza Proceeding on the southbound lane, motorists pay the toll for both the closed and open systems at this plaza. This makes it the last toll plaza that motorists encounter southbound, regardless of where motorists exit beyond this point.
27 Bocaue Exit Diamond Exits at Gov. Fortunato Halili Avenue. West goes to Bocaue town proper and the towns of Balagtas and Bulakan. East goes to the towns of Santa Maria, Pandi, Norzagaray, Angat and Sapang Palay district of San Jose Del Monte.
29
Southbound		 Petron Service Area
31
Northbound		 Shell Service Area Balagtas, Bulacan
32
Northbound		 Tabang Exit Half Y Exits to Tabang Spur Road. Northbound exit/Southbound entrance. Southbound exit/Northbound entrance can be reached via Santa Rita Exit. Before NLEx was extended towards Mabalacat, it was just a curve.
34
Northbound		 Balagtas Exit Half Y Guiguinto, Bulacan Northbound Exit/Southbound Entry. Opened on 20 March 2012, this exit goes directly to the Plaridel Bypass Road which bypasses the town propers of Guiguinto and Plaridel, and serves as an alternative route to the town of Balagtas. It also replaced Tabe Exit located in the middle of Tabang Spur in the town of Guiguinto.
36
Tabang Spur		 Tabang Toll Plaza This leads to Malolos, Paombong and Hagonoy.
36
Southbound		 Shell Service Area
37
Tabang Spur		 Guiguinto Exit A4 parclo This exit is situated in the end of Tabang Spur Road. The original expressway ended here from 1967 to 1976 when NLEX was extended from the curve that is now the Tabang Spur Road interchange up to Dau. Going straight leads to Malolos, Paombong and Hagonoy via MacArthur Highway. Right goes to Maharlika Highway and Santa Rita Exit. Left goes to Guiguinto town proper and Balagtas via MacArthur Highway.
38 Santa Rita Exit Folded diamond Exits to Maharlika Highway. South goes to Guiguinto town proper, Malolos, and Tabang toll plaza. North goes to Plaridel town proper, Baliuag, San Rafael, Cabanatuan and the rest of the province of Nueva Ecija, Aurora and Cagayan Valley region.
42
Northbound		 Petron Service Area
45 Pulilan Exit Diamond Pulilan, Bulacan West goes to MacArthur Highway. East goes to Maharlika Highway. Vehicles from the southbound lanes can take this exit to Malolos and Baliuag. Vehicles from both the northbound and southbound lanes can take this exit to Pulilan town proper and Calumpit and may also serve as an alternate exit from the north instead of the Sta. Rita Exit for vehicles going to Nueva Ecija, Aurora Province and Cagayan Valley region.
48 Candaba Viaduct Apalit, Pampanga A 5 km long trestle over the Candaba Swamp and then the Pampanga River, the longest bridge in NLEX and Luzon.
55
Northbound		 Total Service Area San Simon, Pampanga
56 San Simon Exit Diamond Exits to Quezon Road. Roads west head to Masantol, Macabebe, Apalit and Minalin, road east head to Santa Ana, Arayat and Candaba. This may also serve as an alternate exit to Nueva Ecija, Aurora and Cagayan Valley region instead of the Santa Rita or Pulilan Exits.
62
Southbound		 Caltex Service Area San Fernando, Pampanga
65 San Fernando Exit Folded Diamond with roundabouts (Northbound)
Diamond with roundabouts (Southbound)		 Exits to Jose Abad Santos Avenue (Olongapo–Gapan Road). West heads to Bacolor, Guagua and Lubao in Pampanga, Bataan, Olongapo, Subic and the rest of Zambales province. East heads to Mexico, Santa Ana, Arayat and Gapan. Noteworthy are SM City Pampanga and Robinsons Star Mills Pampanga—both immediately east of the exit and visible from the expressway. This may also serve as an alternate exit to Nueva Ecija, Aurora and Cagayan Valley region instead of the Santa Rita or Pulilan Exits.
70
Northbound		 Petron Service Area Mexico, Pampanga
72 Mexico Exit/Sindalan Exit Trumpet West goes to barangays Panipuan and Sindalan in San Fernando. East goes to Mexico town proper and the Lakeshore Estates. It replaced the old Lakeshore exit, located south of the exit, during the rehabilitation of NLEx.
76
Southbound		 Shell Service Area
81 Angeles Exit Trumpet with Roundabout (Formerly: Parclo Interchange) Angeles, Pampanga This is an alternate route for vehicles bound for Clark Freeport Zone and Clark International Airport, via Aniceto Gueco Street. West goes to Pulung Maragul via Pandan Road where Marquee Mall is visible in the roadside. East goes to Pulung Cacutud and Magalang. Before the NLEx rehabilitation, the Old Angeles Exit was located at the Angeles-Magalang Road overpass, located at the south of the current exit, and it was a small parclo interchange
83 Dau Exit Trumpet Mabalacat, Pampanga Exits to Dau Access Road in Barangay Duquit. Further west lies Dau and its commercial center and bus terminal. This exit is mostly taken by motorists bound for Tarlac, Pangasinan, Ilocos Provinces, Abra, La Union and Baguio. This is yet another alternate route to Clark Special Economic Zone. It was formerly a terminus of NLEx before it was extended further to Santa Ines in 1989. Before the NLEx rehabilitation, it was a signaled intersection which pose risks to motorists.
85
Northbound		 SCTEx Exit Half Y (Future: Trumpet) Connects the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and NLEX via Clark Spur road at barangays Mabiga and Balem. This may be taken by motorists bound for Bataan, Olongapo, Subic Bay Freeport and Tarlac City for a shorter traveling time for now. The end of the exit is Mabalacat/NLEX/Clark Logistics Exit, which serves as the connector of the spur road and SCTEx itself. This is the only connection to SCTEx at this time until NLEX is extended in a northeast direction to connect with SCTEX and will serve as exit for Subic and Clark-bound vehicles. This exit was opened in April 2008
87 Santa Ines Toll Plaza This toll plaza replaced the Dau Toll Plaza in Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga. The old Sta. Ines Toll Plaza, located a few meters north of the current toll plaza, operated from 1989 to 2004. This is the last toll plaza for northbound vehicles. The new toll plaza opened on March 18, 2016.[3]
88 Santa Ines Exit Trumpet (End of Expressway) Exits to Mabalacat-Magalang Road. This is the current end of the expressway, with the possibility of extending the expressway from this exit in a northeast direction until it meets up with the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. West goes to Mabalacat city proper, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Ilocos Provinces, Abra, La Union and Baguio, and east goes to the Concepcion-Magalang Road. Before this was the exit going to the north when SCTEX and TPLEX was not yet operational

Future Exits

All of these exits are still pending construction. The exits from Tarlac City to Rosario, La Union are still being planned, being part of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.

Kilometer No. Exit Interchange type Location Remarks
17 Canumay Exit Valenzuela This exit will replace the Lawang Bato Temporary Exit.
24 NLEx–C6 Interchange Marilao, Bulacan This is an interchange with the proposed C-6 Expressway.
30 Balagtas-North Food Exchange Exit Balagtas, Bulacan This exit will serve as a direct access to the North Food Exchange Complex and to the town of Balagtas, Bulacan. The construction was temporarily stopped in 2011 due to the delays in developing the site of the project.
36 NLEx–NLEEx Interchange This is an interchange with the proposed provincial spur road of North Luzon East Expressway.
TBD Clark International Airport Exit Pampanga This will be an exit leading to Clark International Airport in Angeles.
TBD NLEX–SCTEX Interchange Half Y Pampanga This will serve as the direct connection between the expressway and the NLEX
TBD
NLEx Segment 10		 Manila North Harbor Exit Caloocan (South) This will be an entry to Manila North Harbor and Skyway via Skyway Stage 3 or NLEX Segment 11 (NLEx-SLEx Connector Road)
TBD
NLEx Segment 10		 C-3 Exit Ramp This will be an Entry/Exit Ramp in C-3 Road, Grace Park, Caloocan
TBD NLEX–SLEX Connector: Manila Bay Exit Ramp Manila This will be an Entry/Exit Ramp in Marcos Road (R-10), Tondo, Manila
TBD NLEX–SLEX Connector: España Exit Ramp This will be an Entry/Exit Ramp in España Boulevard, Sampaloc, Manila. This exit takes the motorists to the proposed northern extension of Metro Manila Skyway which travels over the C-2 Road, some portion of the Osmeña Highway and further into the South Luzon Expressway, this may have few exits and therefore a faster route.
TBD NLEX–SLEX Connector: Rizal Avenue Exit Ramp This will be an Entry/Exit Ramp in Rizal Avenue, Santa Cruz, Manila. This exit takes the motorists to the proposed northern

extension of Metro Manila Skyway which travels over the C-2 Road, some portion of the Osmeña Highway and further into the South Luzon Expressway, this may have few exits and therefore a faster route.

TBD NLEX–SLEX Connector: Legarda Exit Ramp This will be an Entry/Exit Ramp in Legarda Street, Sampaloc, Manila
TBD NLEX–SLEX Connector: Zamora Exit Ramp This will be an Entry/Exit Ramp in West and East Zamora Street, Pandacan, Manila
TBD NLEX–SLEX Connector: Pedro Gil Exit Ramp This will be an Entry/Exit Ramp in Pedro Gil Street, Paco, Manila
TBD NLEX–SLEX Connector: Quirino Exit Ramp
TBD
NLEx Segment 8.2		 Congressional/Luzon Avenue Exit (End of Expressway) Quezon City This Exit is the end of NLEx Segment 8.2/NLEX–C5 Link, goes to the C-5 Congressional/Luzon Avenue.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.mntc.com/nlex/NLEX_Toll.htm
  2. ↑ MNTC to start P2.6-B NLEX road-widening project this month
  3. ↑ Ashley Manabat (March 22, 2016). "NLEx-SCTEx merger timely for Holy Week exodus". Punto! Central Luzon. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
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