NLEX drainage work suspended during Lent

The Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) announced yesterday that drainage and other engineering works on the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) will be suspended during the Holy Week to give way to a hassle-free and unhampered travel along the 84-kilometer tollway.

MNTC president Jose de Jesus said the suspension takes effect on April 4 when vehicular traffic usually builds up due to the traditional observance of the Lenten season when people go home to their respective provinces.

De Jesus said there will be no further works on the expressway, while ongoing works will be completed and the asphalt pavement restored in order to ensure that all four lanes are open to traffic by noon of April 4.

"There will be no lane closures whatsoever during the public holidays and the drainage enhancement and other works will gradually resume starting April 11," he said.

The six-month drainage enhancement project which started last February forms part of the MNTC’s preventive maintenance program.

It covers the northbound Segment One of the NLEX, or the 14-kilometer stretch from Balintawak to Burol, and vice versa.

MNTC senior vice president Luigi Bautista said the change of behavior of the groundwater on the NLEX drainage system, especially during the rainy season, prompted the project.