The completed NLEX Harbor Link. Handout
MANILA— The Toll Regulatory Board has approved a rate hike at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) following the completion of its Harbor Link project last June, its management announced.
NLEX Corp said there would be a P4 increase in the open system and P0.06 per kilometer in the closed system. The additional toll rate will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Motorists traveling within the open system through Class 1 vehicles, or those using regular cars and SUVs, will pay an additional P4. Class 2 vehicles, or buses and small trucks, will pay an additional P10. Class 3 vehicles, meanwhile, will pay an additional P11, the advisory read.
The open system covers Quezon City, Caloocan City, Valenzuela City, Malabon City, Navotas City, Meycauayan City and Marilao in Bulacan.
Vehicles on end-to-end travel from Metro Manila to Mabalacat City in Pampanga will be charged an additional P9, P20, and P25 per class, respectively.
The toll hike was supposed to be implemented earlier this year, NLEX said, but the increase was deferred due to the “adverse economic impact” of the lockdowns implemented because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The new section has also reduced commuting time along Metro Manila’s east to west corridor between the Mindanao Avenue Toll Plaza and the Port Area in Manila to just 20 minutes,” said NLEX.
NLEX Harbor Link Project
The P7-billion NLEX Harbor Link elevated section spans 2.6-kilometers between the new Caloocan Interchange at C3 Road and 5th Avenue and the new Navotas Interchange along R-10 and Mel Lopez Boulevard.
The latest elevated section also highlights the new Caloocan Interchange with on and off ramps along Grace Park, the new Malabon Exit with off ramp on Dagat-Dagatan Avenue, and the new Navotas Interchange, according to NLEX.
The Harbor Link expanded the NLEX network in the areas of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela City (Camanava).
More than 30,000 vehicles every day currently use the NLEX Harbor Link, which improved commuting time, its management said.
“Since its opening to commuter traffic last June 15, the new elevated expressway has helped mitigate worsening traffic conditions and has offered an alternative route for commuters and truckers, currently affected by traffic choke points along EDSA, A. Bonifacio and Rizal Avenue in Manila,” NLEX said.
Around 7,200 vehicles were diverted to the Harbor Link from the Manila-bound EDSA Balintawak Cloverleaf, that eased the congestion in A. Bonifacio and some parts of Quezon City and Manila.
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