MANILA, Philippines - Some P171 million has been allocated by the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), builder and concessionaire of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), to its 2011 heavy maintenance program which started in June this year and will be completed in September.
Sections undergoing maintenance works include the 8.7- kilometer Burol to Balintawak southbound section and the six-kilometer Meycauayan to Sta. Rita northbound section of the NLEX.
MNTC president and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco said the amount allocated for the program will be spent mainly for stone mastic asphalt overlay over 14.7 kilometers equivalent to an estimated total of 57.6 lane kilometers.
Franco said these regular maintenance works are necessary to maintain the high quality of NLEX and to continue to improve the quality of service.
MNTC is the builder and concessionaire of the 94- kilometer expressway.
Franco explained that the entire stretch of the NLEX from Balintawak in Caloocan City to Sta. Ines in Mabalacat, Pampanga is repaved every seven years. “In NLEX, our policy is not to wait until serious deterioration takes place. This ensures uninterrupted delivery of smooth, seamless travel that is the hallmark of NLEX,” Franco said.
He assured the public that proper traffic management is being undertaken to avoid disruption in traffic and provide the least inconvenience to motorists.
“Our engineers drew up a strategic work schedule designed to keep construction from standing in the way of motorists during rush hours,” he said.
On Mondays, work on the southbound lanes begins at 12 noon when traffic volume is traditionally light. On Fridays, work on the northbound lanes stop at 12 noon when traffic starts to build up.
Complementing the staggered work schedule is the lane by lane asphalting scheme to avoid unnecessary constriction of the carriageway.
To ensure meeting the September deadline, MNTC deployed two contingents equipped with heavy equipment: one for the rehabilitation of the northbound lanes, and the other for the southbound lanes.