NLEX-SLEX Connector

The project involves the financing, design, construction, operation & maintenance of the 23-kilometer elevated railway line with 14 stations from San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan to MRT 3 North Avenue in Quezon City and the 22-kilometer asphalt road from Bocaue Interchange of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to the intermodal terminal in Tala. The road component will divert northern provincial buses operation to San Jose Del Monte, thereby decongesting EDSA.

The PPP project involves the construction and operation and maintenance (O&M) of a 8 km. 4-lane elevated expressway over the Philippine National Railway (PNR) right of way. It starts from C3 Road in Caloocan through Manila crossing Espana towards PUP, Sta. Mesa connecting Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 (MMSS3). Once completed, the NLEX-SLEX Connector road is expected to decongest traffic in Metro Manila by providing an alternative to C-5 Road, Efipanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), and other major thoroughfares, and cut the travel time between NLEX and SLEX to 15-20 minutes which today takes more than an hour.

This project aims to:

• Stimulate development in Manila, Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas, as well as its surrounding areas.
• Decongest Metro Manila traffic
• Provide trucks with 24/7 alternative route and resolve truck-ban problems
• Provide better access to Manila Ports (North Harbor) and Airports (NAIA and Clark)
• Complete the connection of NLEx with SLEx

Project Benefits: 

• At the end of construction, the project is expected to:
• Reduce travel time from SLEX to NLEX from 2 hours to just 20 minutes
• Reduce travel time from Clark to Calamba from approximately 3 hours to 1 hour and 40 minutes.
• Benefit at least 35,000 motorists/vehicles per day 
• Improve connectivity between NAIA and Clark airports.

The four-lane elevated toll road will have four toll plazas, along with interchanges in C3 and Espana. When finished, the elevated road will provide better access to the Port of Manila and airports such as NAIA and Clark International Airport. Travel time between NLEX and SLEX could go from 2 hours to just 20 minutes.

With Skyway Stage 3 already providing a direct link between Alabang and Balintawak, the upcoming NLEX-SLEX Connector will further free up traffic in Metro Manila once it's finished.

The 18-kilometer Skyway Stage 3 project will be fully operational on Jan. 14 next year, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced on Tuesday.

Once it becomes fully operational, travel time from the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) will be reduced from two hours to only 30 minutes, while Makati City to Quezon City will only be 20 minutes away, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said.

The Skyway, a “Build, Build, Build” project, partially opened on Dec. 29.

“Skyway Stage 3 is a critical component of the Edsa decongestion project — a masterplan composed of 25 projects. When the project is fully opened on January 14, at least 55,000 vehicles are expected to be diverted from Edsa, C5, and other major thoroughfares,” Villar said in a statement.