Manila North Road bridges to be widened

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — All 25 bridges spanning the old Manila North Road (MNR) through Bulacan and Pampanga will be widened to four lanes by next year as part of the P3-billion rehabilitation program to provide motorists with a toll-free alternative to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).

Ramon Aquino, director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), said the 25 bridges, which have only two lanes at present, will be "retrofitted" since most parts of the 33-kilometer MNR from Marilao, Bulacan to Mabalacat, Pampanga have being widened to four lanes.

"We have to make the bridges proportionate to the width of the highway to avoid clogging of traffic toward the bridges," he said.

The clamor for the MNR’s upgrading mounted after the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) raised toll rates along the NLEX.

Aquino said the bridges’ widening is part of Phase 2 of the DPWH’s project to upgrade the MNR, which the public commonly, though wrongly, refers to as MacArthur Highway.

Phase 1, which involves the widening of the MNR, is almost complete, except for the drainage system, at a cost of P500 million.

"Phase 3 will be the overlaying of the entire length of the highway, plus the installation of safety features. All the three phases will cost some P3 billion when they are finally completed in 2008," Aquino said.

He said the upgrading of the 25 bridges is expected to be finished by March or May next year, while work on the drainage system under Phase 1 is expected to start this January.

"The local government units were very helpful in settling right-of-way problems with those affected by the widening project," he said.

He, however, lamented that he and other officials are now facing charges in court filed by some of the displaced folk.

Aquino said Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Mike Defensor has agreed to the cutting of a number of trees affected by the MNR widening in Bulacan.

Aquino said the DPWH is now working full-blast on the new P332-million, 22.7-kilometer road from the Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo (GSO) Road to Subic, one of the conditions for the $1.2-billion shipbuilding facility now being built by the Korean firm Hanjin in the Subic Bay Freeport.

"We have leveled some 20 kilometers of the mountain terrain in Castillejos, Zambales and asphalted some three kilometers for a direct route to the project site," he said.

Aquino said the DPWH is set to undertake early next year the P1.5-billion widening of the GSO Road starting from the Gugu bridge in Bacolor to the Sta. Cruz bridge in Lubao, Pampanga.

The two bridges will also be replaced to accommodate four lanes. Aquino said the project is funded by a Korean loan.

"It will also include dredging of the Porac-Gumain River which was silted by lahar debris from Mt. Pinatubo," he said.

Aquino said the DPWH is considering the proposal of City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriquez to extend the project up to the intersection of the GSO and MacArthur Highway.

"We are favorably considering this since the extra length required is not that much," he said.