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). In 1976, it surpassed the San Juanico Bridge (finished 1973) to become the longest bridge in the Philippines. In April 27, 2022, it was surpassed by the 8.9 km Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) upon its inauguration and the viaduct is now the second longest bridge in the country.[3] The viaduct was designed by Aas-Jakobsen[1] 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.[2]

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[1]
Constructed by	Philippine National Construction Corporation[2]
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.[2] 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.[4] On February 10, 2005, the operations and maintenance of the whole of NLEX were transferred to the Manila North Tollways Corporation (now NLEX Corporation).[5]

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.[6] Lighting, emergency callboxes and CCTVs along the viaduct are powered by solar panels due to the problem of installing power lines within the viaduct.[7]

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.

In February 2017, it was announced that Candaba Viaduct would be expanded and would have a third lane on both sides of the bridge.[8]