The Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (PAMCHAM) has proposed to the NLEX Corporation to reconsider the construction of two outer single-lane bridges alongside the old viaducts that are currently being repaired due to structural defects.
In a letter to Manny Pangilinan, NLEX Corporation President and General Manager, PAMCHAM raised issues on the planned construction of a 3rd viaduct in between the two existing viaducts – one which is 46 years old and the other one 36 years old.
Renato G. Romero, PAMCHAM Past President and Director in Charge of Infrastructure Development Committee, said: “Some of our members expressed apprehension over the potential danger and obstruction to traffic that can be caused by heavier and slower trucks, normally at the outer lanes of the expressway, crossing and changing lanes to get on and off the inner viaduct.”
“It is in this regard that we would like to propose, for your consideration and study, the possibility of constructing two outer single lane bridges, one northbound and one southbound, alongside the two existing viaducts,” said Romero.
“From an ordinary motorists’ point of view, traffic will be smooth and seamless, because slow heavier vehicles, like trucks and cargo vans, will remain on the outermost lanes both on and off the viaducts.”
Construction of the 3rd viaduct will reportedly start January next year.
The structural integrity of the old viaducts had been severely affected by the heavy trucks passing through it particularly quarry trucks hauling sand to construction sites in Metro Manila and elsewhere.
The NLEX Corporation has imposed the 33-ton weight limit for all trucks entering the expressway to preserve the structural integrity of the roadway and bridges.
The NLEX Corporation said it wants to ensure a safer and seamless travel along the 5-kilometer stretch of the old viaducts from Apalit, Pampanga to Pulilan, Bulacan. NLEX is currently working on 12 link slabs on the southbound viaduct to strengthen the bridge after replacing 13 link slabs on the same bridge last year.