PGMA inspects C5 extension project in QC, Valenzuela

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today inspected the C-5 (Circumferential Road 5) Ext. which stretches from Luzon Ave. in Quezon City to the soon-to-be completed interchange of the North Luzon Expressway in Valenzuela City.

The President, who had just come from nearby New Era University, where she addressed students and faculty, rode a Victory Liner bus hired just for the occasion with several members of media.

As the motorcade passed by the project site, which consists of the construction of a flyover that spans Commonwealth Ave. to link the southern and northern portions of C-5, the President was briefed on the progress of work by Public Works and Highways Director for the National Capital Region Edilberto Tayao.

The ongoing NLEX-C5-SLEX link project is designed to cut travel time between Northern and Southern Metro Manila by about 30 to 45 minutes from the current three hours, thereby bringing down the cost of moving people and goods.

The President and her party then proceeded to Valenzuela City, where an on-/and off-ramp to and from NLEX is being constructed to connect NLEX and Circumferential Road C-5 at a point on Mindanao Ave.

Once completed, the NLEX-Mindanao Ave. C-5-SLEX interconnection will provide motorists hassle-free travel to South Luzon and North Luzon since they will be spared the perennial traffic jams in several Metro Manila chokepoints.

All this is part of the current administration’s flagship project, the Urban Luzon Beltway (ULB), which is meant to make the country a major logistics and services hub in Asia-Pacific. The region accounts for $1 trillion of the estimated global logistics value of $3.5 trillion.

Other key components of the ULB project are the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), which provides seamless travel from Sto. Tomas town in Batangas to Batangas City.

STAR will be made to link up with SLEX, NLEX, and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), a 93.7-kilometer modern tollway connecting Subic Freeport Zone in Olongapo City, the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles City, and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac City.

The road networks facilitate travel between and among the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Metro Manila, and other international seaports in Subic Bay and Batangas City. [top]