North East Luzon Expressway

infobox road
highway_name = North East Luzon Expressway
length_km = 456
length_round = 1
direction = North/South
starting_terminus= Commonwealth Avenue (R-7), Barangay Balara, Quezon City
North Luzon Expressway (R-10) in Plaridel, Bulacan
ending_terminus = Tuguegarao City, Cagayan
cities = Quezon City, San Jose del Monte City, Gapan City, Cabanatuan City, San Jose City, Cauayan City, Tuguegarao CityThe North East Luzon Expressway is a proposed, 6 to 4-lane, 456-kilometer, limited-access toll expressway. The construction involves 3 stages and will be the country's longest tollway when the expressway becomes fully-operational.

The first leg of the expressway will begin in Quezon City in Metro Manila and from there it will be called the "La Mesa Parkways" and will be developed by Ausphil Tollways Corporation. This will be divided into three stages:
*Stage 1 will be a 6-lane tollway beginning from Commonwealth Avenue in Barangay Balara, Quezon City to La Mesa Watershed, Quezon City.
*Stage 2 will be a 6-lane tollway from La Mesa Watershed to Bicti, Norzagaray, Bulacan.
*Stage 3 will be a 6-lane tollway from Norzagaray, Bulacan up to Baliuag, Bulacan.

The entire cost of this segment is P 7.8 billion pesos ($190,243,902.44).

The proposed project involves a new concept or technology called the "Water Sensitive Urban Tollway," and will be developed in two (2) stages terminating at the Baliwag Junction to service the Nueve Ecija / Cagayan Valley traffic load. The proposed project will include the construction of wetlands and roadway system that will integrate the drainage of rainwater from the tollways to the collection and swale system filtration, which is compliant with the 1971 RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands and Philippine Environmental laws. The process involves the collection of rainwater in patented structures to be introduced within the tollways and the filtration of the collected rainwater utilizing wetland plan enzymes to remove pollutants from the swale filtered water. The integration of the wetlands and roadways in the project shall have favorable impact on the environment while producing 10.2 million cubic meters to the La Mesa Reservoir. The system, developed and used extensively in Australia and in the United States, shall be pioneered by Ausphil Tollways Corporation in the Philippines.

The first stage of the provincial segment of the expressway will be divided into several segments of the road:
*The first phase— a 22-km two-lane toll road from Plaridel to San Rafael, Bulacan, this phase will cost at least P3 billion. From there, it will meet the expressway from Quezon City.
*There were no cost estimates yet for the second state (34 km from San Leonardo to Cabanatuan City, both in the province of Nueva Ecija)
*There are also no cost estimates yet for the third stage (45 km connecting Plaridel and Cabanatuan bypasses). [ [http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=19701180#post19701180 Skyscrapercity.com Forums' thread about the North East Luzon Expressway, includes links to other news and articles about the North Luzon East Expressway.] ]

After the first stage, the construction of the road will continue until it reaches Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

The expressway will be initially built with two lanes, one for each direction. As soon as these lanes became operational, another carriageway will be built.

The government shoulders the financing for the construction but upon completion, the operation and maintenance of toll facility will be offered to the private sector through concession.

External links

* [http://ausphil.ph Ausphil Tollways Corporation Official Website]

References