MOA on Marilao East Service Road project signed

MANILA, Philippines — Construction of the Marilao East Service Road in Bulacan is set to begin.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, who also chairs the Toll Regulatory Board, signed on Thursday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corp., Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and provincial and municipal officials of Bulacan for the construction of the Marilao East Service Road.

The project will start from the Barcelona Academy Inc. in Barangay Lias and end at the Mario Santiago Road in Marilao.

“Transportation means accessibility. Accessibility also means convenience. They go hand in hand… We are partners in the whole-of-government approach to make the lives of the Filipino people more comfortable and convenient,” Tugade said.

Under the MOA, NLEX Corp. will give the DPWH Central Luzon office right of way for the construction of the service road pending the acquisition of lots by the DPWH regional office.

Areas covered by the Marilao East Service Road project remain part of the NLEX, which is a limited access facility as covered in the Limited Access Highway Act or Republic Act 2000.

Under the MOA, access to the NLEX “may be reasonably regulated, restricted, or prohibited” by the Department of Transporation and Toll Regulatory Board.

DPWH Region 3 and the government of Marilao shall also exert “utmost efforts to abide by NLEX Corporation’s reasonable regulations regarding ingress to NLEX,” the MOA states.

Marilao Mayor Ricardo Silvestre said the road project is necessary to open a more direct local route to and from these areas and ease traffic at the Meycauayan-Marilao corridor.

“This project will ultimately benefit the public as this will provide our host communities in Meycauayan City and Marilao better connection and improved accessibility. We are more than happy to help facilitate the mobility needs of the two growing LGUs,” NLEX Corp. president J. Luigi Bautista said.