Candaba Viaduct
The Candaba Viaduct (also known as Pulilan–Apalit Bridge and Candaba Pampanga Viaduct) is a 5-kilometer (3.1 mi) viaduct carrying the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) across the Candaba Swamp in the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan, Philippines consisting of six lanes (three northbound and three southbound). It was the longest bridge in the Philippines upon its opening in 1976, surpassed in April 27, 2022 by the 8.9 km Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) upon its inauguration making the viaduct now the second longest bridge in the country. The viaduct was designed by Aas-Jakobsen and built by Construction Development Corporation of the Philippines (CDCP, later renamed to Philippine National Construction Corporation) as part of construction of the whole NLEX.
Candaba Viaduct | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 14°57′15″N 120°46′36″E |
| Carries | 6 lanes of E1 (North Luzon Expressway) |
| Crosses | Candaba Swamps Pampanga River |
| Locale | Apalit, Pampanga Calumpit, Bulacan Pulilan, Bulacan |
| Official name | Candaba Viaduct |
| Other name(s) | Pulilan-Apalit Bridge Candaba Pampanga Viaduct (STA 46+938 – 52+188) |
| Maintained by | NLEX Corporation (Tollways Management Corporation) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Viaduct |
| Material | Concrete, Asphalt |
| Total length | 5 km (3.1 mi) |
| Width | 12 m (39 ft) per direction |
| Height | 15 m (49 ft 3 in) |
| No. of lanes | Six-lane double carriageway (three lanes per direction) |
| History | |
| Designer | Aas-Jakobsen |
| Constructed by | Philippine National Construction Corporation |
| Construction start | 1974 |
| Construction end | 1976 |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | See NLEX toll matrix |
| Location | |
Built in 1976, the bridge and the whole stretch of NLEX were constructed as a component project of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development through the direction of the Ministry of Public Highways. The project was completed in 1977 and through Presidential Decree No. 1113, then President Ferdinand Marcos granted CDCP the franchise to maintain and operate the NLEX including the Candaba Viaduct. On February 10, 2005, the operations and maintenance of the whole of NLEX were transferred to the Manila North Tollways Corporation (now NLEX Corporation).
Overlooking Mount Arayat in the east and Zambales Mountains in the west, the viaduct is raised over Candaba Swamp, which keeps the highway open to traffic, even when the swamp gets flooded during the rainy or monsoon season. Lighting, emergency callboxes and CCTVs along the viaduct are powered by solar panels due to the problem of installing power lines within the viaduct.
The viaduct also serves as a major utility corridor, serving as the right-of-way of relocated San Simon–Pulilan segment of Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak 230,000-volt transmission line where the said power line segment underwent relocation from February 18, 2008 to June 2011 to accommodate the widening and expansion of MacArthur Highway from San Simon, Pampanga to Calumpit, Bulacan and Pulilan Regional Road from Calumpit to NLEX Pulilan Exit in Pulilan, where the steel poles posed a safety hazard. The Hermosa–San Jose 500,000-volt line intersects with the viaduct and also visible from it.