NLEX Candaba Viaduct to reopen by Dec. 11

WIDER BRIDGE File photo shows motorists using the old Candaba Viaduct, which was rebuilt starting last year. —CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE

PULILAN, BULACAN—The P9-billion new Candaba Viaduct 3 of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), which aims to improve traffic flow in the region, is almost complete and will open to motorists in time for the Christmas holidays, officials said on Wednesday.

J. Luigi Bautista, president and general manager of NLEx Corp., said the viaduct is already 97 percent completed and will be ready to serve motorists in time for the holiday season.

“We will formally inaugurate and open this on Dec. 10 or 11,” he told reporters at the inspection and test run of the structure.

He noted that the regular volume of NLEx motorists, currently estimated at 350,000 daily, is expected to increase by 10 percent during the Christmas and New Year periods.

The Candaba Viaduct 3 is a three-lane 5-kilometer elevated bridge constructed in the middle of two existing bridges connecting the towns of Pulilan in Bulacan and Apalit in Pampanga.

Bautista said the viaduct’s opening is six months ahead of the June 2025 target. It began construction in June 2023.

The project’s Zone 3, he added, will make travel to Metro Manila faster and more comfortable. It will also boost the economy through increased trade and mobility.

Zone 1, the Pulilan section, was completed in August this year while Zone 2, the Apalit section, became operational in October.