Smart Connect Interchange

Last updated
Smart Connect Interchange
Harbor Link Interchange
Mindanao Avenue Interchange
Smart Connect Interchange aerial view.jpg
Aerial view of the Smart Connect Interchange in 2018, looking east from NLEX Harbor Link.
Smart Connect Interchange
Location
Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines
Coordinates 14°41′36.7″N121°0′1.6″E / 14.693528°N 121.000444°E / 14.693528; 121.000444
Roads at
junction
AH26 (E1) sign.svg AH 26 (E1) (North Luzon Expressway)
E5 (Philippines).svg E5 (NLEX Harbor Link)
Construction
TypeTwo-level cloverleaf interchange
Constructed2009–2010 by Leighton Contractors Asia Ltd
OpenedJune 5, 2010 (2010-06-05)
Maintained by Department of Public Works and Highways
NLEX Corporation
TollsPart of the open section of NLEX (see NLEX toll matrix )

The Smart Connect Interchange, also known as the Harbor Link Interchange [1] and the Mindanao Avenue Interchange, is a two-level cloverleaf interchange in Valenzuela, Metro Manila, the Philippines which serves as the junction of North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) between its main segment and its Harbor Link project, particularly Segments 8.1 and 9, components of Circumferential Road 5 (C-5). Built as part of the 2.7-kilometer (1.7 mi) NLEX Segment 8.1 of the Harbor Link project extending the expressway to Mindanao Avenue, [2] which has since been incorporated into the C-5 system, it is the Philippines' largest cloverleaf interchange in terms of land area. [3]

History

Construction of NLEX Segment 8.1, including the Smart Connect Interchange, broke ground on April 2, 2009, [4] with actual construction work beginning 19 days later. [5]

The entire segment was opened to traffic on June 5, 2010, with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of the Manila North Tollways Corporation, the concessionaire of the North Luzon Expressway, leading the inauguration along with Public Works and Highways Secretary Victor Domingo and high-ranking officials from Valenzuela. [6] With some 30,000 vehicles estimated to use the new road daily during its first year of operation, [5] since its opening it has helped to relieve traffic on the older Balintawak Interchange connecting Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) to NLEX, [7] which is three times smaller. [5]

Although the Smart Connect Interchange was opened to traffic in 2010, it originally only carried traffic between Valenzuela and eastern Metro Manila via NLEX Segment 8.1, with the westbound ramps closed to traffic. Work on a connection between the interchange and western Metro Manila would only be realized with the construction of the 2.42-kilometer (1.50 mi) NLEx Segment 9 between the interchange and the MacArthur Highway in Karuhatan, which was opened on March 19, 2015. [8] A further extension from Karuhatan to the Port of Manila, known as NLEX Segment 10 or NLEX Harbor Link, was opened gradually from February 28, 2019 to June 15, 2020. [9] [10]

On November 16, 2012, [11] Smart Communications bought the naming rights to the interchange, giving it its current name. [12]

Related Research Articles

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The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), signed as E2 of the Philippine expressway network and R-3 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects Metro Manila to the provinces in the Calabarzon region on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The expressway has a length of 46.9 km, traveling from its northern terminus at the Magallanes Interchange in Makati to its southern terminus at Santo Tomas, Batangas, connecting it to the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road. A portion of the expressway from the Magallanes Interchange to the Calamba Exit is part of Asian Highway 26 of the Asian highway network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Luzon Expressway</span> Major controlled-access highway in the Philippines

The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), signed as E1 of the Philippine expressway network, partially as N160 of the Philippine highway network, and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a limited-access toll expressway that connects Metro Manila to the provinces of the Central Luzon region in the Philippines. The expressway, which includes the main segment and its various spurs, has a total length of 101.8 kilometers (63.3 mi) and travels from its northern terminus at Sta. Ines Interchange to its southern terminus in Balintawak Interchange, which is adjacent to its connection to Skyway, an elevated toll road that connects the NLEX to its counterpart in the south, the South Luzon Expressway. The segment of the expressway between Santa Rita Exit in Guiguinto and the Balintawak Interchange in Quezon City is part of Asian Highway 26 of the Asian highway network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila–Cavite Expressway</span> Expressway in the Philippines

The Manila–Cavite Expressway, signed as E3 of the Philippine expressway network and R-1 of Metro Manila's arterial road network, is a 14-kilometer-long (8.7 mi) controlled-access toll expressway linking Manila to the southern province of Cavite in the Philippines. At its north end, it feeds into and from Roxas Boulevard in the city of Parañaque in Metro Manila, also part of R-1. At the south end, it splits into two termini, both along the north coast in Kawit, Cavite. The first feeds into the intersection of Tirona Highway and Antero Soriano Highway. The second southern terminus is on the intersection of Tirona Highway, Antero Soriano Highway and Covelandia Road in Kawit, Cavite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway</span> Expressway in the Philippines

The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), signed as E1 and E4 of the Philippine expressway network and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is controlled-access toll expressway in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. From its northern terminus in Tarlac City to its southern terminus at Tipo in Hermosa, Bataan, the SCTEX serves as one of the main expressways in Luzon. The expressway is also connected to the Central Luzon Link Expressway, North Luzon Expressway, Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway, and the Subic Freeport Expressway. The SCTEX is the country's longest expressway at 105.16 kilometers (65.34 mi). The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway was constructed to provide a more efficient transport corridor between Subic Bay Freeport, Clark, and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac, foster development on the municipalities served, and connect major infrastructures such as the Subic Seaport and Clark International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro Manila Skyway</span> Elevated expressway in Metro Manila, Philippines

The Metro Manila Skyway, officially the Metro Manila Skyway System (MMSS) or simply the Skyway, is an elevated highway which is the main expressway in Metro Manila, Philippines. It connects the North and South Luzon Expressways with access to Ninoy Aquino International Airport via the NAIA Expressway (NAIAX). It is the first fully grade-separated highway in the Philippines and one of the longest elevated highways in the world, with a total length of approximately 39.2 kilometers (24.4 mi).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway</span> Expressway in the Philippines

The Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEX), signed as E1 of the Philippine expressway network and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a controlled-access toll expressway that connects the Central Luzon region with the Ilocos Region. From its northern terminus at Rosario in La Union to its southern terminus at Tarlac City, the expressway has a length of 89.21-kilometer (55.43 mi), cutting through the various provinces in northern Central Luzon. Despite that the name only stating the provinces of Tarlac, Pangasinan, and La Union, the expressway also passes the province of Nueva Ecija in addition to the three provinces mentioned before.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circumferential Road 5</span> Road in the Philippines

Circumferential Road 5 (C-5), informally known as the C-5 Road, is a network of roads and bridges that all together form the fifth beltway of Metro Manila in the Philippines. Spanning some 42.3 kilometers (26.3 mi), it connects the cities of Las Piñas, Makati, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, Taguig, and Valenzuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radial Road 8</span>

Radial Road 8, more commonly referred to as R-8, is a network of roads and bridges that altogether form the eighth radial road of Manila in the Philippines. It runs north-south through northern Metro Manila linking the City of Manila with Quezon City, Caloocan, and Valenzuela into the northern provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan, and La Union. The portion of R-8 between Guiguinto and Balintawak is also designated a component of the Pan-Philippine Highway network (AH26). It also has a spur segment in Quirino Highway from NLEX to its junction with R-7 at Commonwealth Avenue, both in Quezon City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NAIA Expressway</span> Expressway in the Philippines

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAX), signed as E6 of the Philippine expressway network, is an 11.6-kilometer (7.2 mi) elevated expressway in Metro Manila, Philippines, which links the Skyway to Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Entertainment City. Traversing the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, the NAIAX runs along Andrews Avenue, Electrical Road, and NAIA Road connecting the Skyway to Ninoy Aquino Avenue, Macapagal Boulevard, New Seaside Drive and the Manila–Cavite Expressway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valenzuela station</span> Former station on the Northrail line of the Philippine National Railways (PNR)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mindanao Avenue</span> Major thoroughfare from Caloocan to Quezon City, Philippines

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maysan Road</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balintawak Interchange</span>

The Balintawak Interchange, also known as the Balintawak Cloverleaf, is a two-level cloverleaf interchange in Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines which serves as the junction between Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). Opened in 1968 as part of the initial 37-kilometer (23 mi) NLEx segment between Quezon City and Guiguinto, Bulacan, it was one of the first projects of the Construction and Development Corporation of the Philippines, now the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sales Interchange</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">E1 expressway (Philippines)</span>

Expressway (E1) forms part of the Philippine expressway network. It runs through western Luzon from Quezon City in the south to Rosario in the north.

Expressway 5 (E5) forms part of the Philippine expressway network. Collectively known as the North Luzon Expressway Harbor Link Project, it runs from Congressional Avenue and Luzon Avenue, both components of Circumferential Road 5, in Quezon City to Radial Road 10 in Navotas, linking the North Luzon Expressway to the Port of Manila. Currently, its segment from Mindanao Avenue in Valenzuela to Navotas is operational.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NLEX Corporation</span>

NLEX Corporation is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), a company owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corporation. It holds the concession rights to construct, operate and maintain the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). The company was acquired by the Metro Pacific group from the Lopez Group of Companies in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NLEX Connector</span> Elevated highway in the Philippines

NLEX Connector, also known as the NLEX–SLEX Connector Road, is a 7.7-kilometer (4.8 mi), four-lane elevated expressway in Metro Manila, Philippines. It connects the NLEX Harbor Link to the Metro Manila Skyway, which in turn connect to the North and South Luzon Expressways, respectively, while traversing parallel to the PNR Metro Commuter Line. The highway has five interchanges, three of which is currently operational. Alongside NLEX Harbor Link, trucks are allowed to use it.

References

  1. "NLEX eyes construction of 2km extension to Quezon City by second half of the year". NLEX Corporation. June 27, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  2. "MNTC ready to undertake NLEX-C5 road link proj". The Philippine Star . PhilStar Daily, Inc. April 30, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  3. "MNTC starts construction of roads connecting NLEX from all directions". GMA News and Public Affairs. April 2, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "NLEX's Segment 8.1 opens today, June 5" (Press release). Manila North Tollways Corporation. June 5, 2010. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  5. "PGMA inaugurates P2.1-B NLEX-Mindanao Avenue Link". Philippines News Agency. June 5, 2010. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  6. Reyes, Mary Ann L.L. (July 12, 2015). "Seamless travel". The Philippine Star . PhilStar Daily, Inc. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  7. "NLEX's Segment 9 opens Thursday". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. March 18, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  8. Unite, Betheena (February 28, 2020). "Harbor Link Segment 10 finally opens". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  9. "NLEX opens latest Harbor Link section". CNN Philippines. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  10. Smart Communications [@LiveSmart] (November 16, 2012). "MOA signing for the SMART CONNECT Interchange. The largest cloverleaf in the Phil now sports a new name. twitpic.com/bdkqy1" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  11. "Smart, MNTC, Voyager tie up for interactive mobile messaging" (Press release). Smart Communications. July 26, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2016.