Last Updated on April 14, 2021 by Carmelyne Thompson
March 13, 2021 – After almost 6 years, the Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion Road is finally complete. It now takes less than an hour, depending on your car’s speed, to reach Baliuag, Bulacan from Balintawak toll plaza of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). This is good news to motorists using NLEX and was made possible through the Pulilan-Baliuag Bypass Road’s completion starting from Brgy. Tibag (about 200 meters away from the NLEx-Pulilan exit) all the way to the Maharlika Highway in Brgy. Tarcan, Baliuag.
Traveling before from the Malolos-Calumpit area going to Baliuag is quite a long journey. You would need to pass by the Pulilan National Highway, then turn left on Pulilan crossing to traverse the Maharlika Highway (also known as the Cagayan Valley Road). Likewise, when you travel from Baliuag to Metro Manila via the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), you need to go through the same route.
The Pulilan-Baliuag bypass road slices thru 9.6 kilometers of Pulilan town’s ricefields and features a bike-lane, the first of its kind in Bulacan. The new highway is expected to complement the Balagtas Bypass Road, which has greatly reduced motorists’ travel time going to the eastern towns of Bulacan, including Nueva Ecija-bound passenger buses and cargo trucks.
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Where is this Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion Road in Bulacan?
The 9.6-kilometer four-lane Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion Road begins at Pulilan-Calumpit Road in Barangay Tibag, Pulilan, near the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), traversing Pulilan barangays, namely, Tabon, Peñabatan, Sta. Peregrina, and Balatong B and ends in Daang Maharlika (Maharlika Highway or the Cagayan Valley Road) in Barangay Tarcan, Baliuag. This is estimated to cut travel time between Baliuag and Pulilan or vice versa from the usual 1 hour to just 15 minutes.
Build Build Build Project: Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion Road
The 9.62-kilometer Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion Road Project has multi-year funding from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Infrastructure Program, amounting to P922 Million for combined civil works and Road Right of Way acquisition. The project was started in May 2015 and finished early in March 2021.
Phase I (May 2015 – April 2016) – DPWH implemented the project’s Phase I covering the 5.2-kilometer embankment of the Pulilan Section from Barangay Tabon to Sta. Peregrina.
Phase I Negotiated Contract (August 2016 – December 2016) – Completion of the 5.2-kilometer embankment.
Phase II (June 2016 – May 2018) – Embankment and concreting of the Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP).
Phase III (February 2017 – February 2019) – Phase III includes widening and constructing a 12.8 lineal meter bridge. The Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion Road was officially opened to the motoring public on May 9, 2019. Its inauguration ceremony was attended by Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, Pulilan Mayor Maritz Ochoa-Montejo, Rep. Gavini “Apol” Pancho, and DPWH Regional Director Roseller Tolentino.
Phase IV (March 2020 – March 2021) – On March 13, 2021, Secretary Mark Villar of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) led the final inspection of the bike-friendly and upgrading phase IV of Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion Road in Bulacan. This also marks the whole project’s official completion date under the Build, Build, Build program of the national government implemented by the DPWH Region 3, which was broke ground in 2015 and inaugurated in May 2019.
DPWH Secretary Villar said lane widening and installation of reflectorized bike lanes and metal beam guards and constructing slope protection structures to ensure the traveling public and cycling enthusiasts’ safety were conducted under the last phase (Phase IV) of the project. He added that transportation improvement projects like the said diversion road would boost the local economies of Pulilan and Baliuag and the quality of life of the Bulakenyos.
Sources:
- Jacque Manabat, A. (2021, March 12). Bike-friendly Pulilan-Baliuag DIVERSION road to OPEN March 13: Dpwh. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/03/12/21/bike-friendly-pulilan-baliuag-diversion-road-to-open-march-13-dpwh
- Balbin, M. (2019, May 09). DPWH chief inaugurates 9.6-km Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion Road. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1069388
- DPWH to COMPLETE concreting OF Pulilan-Baliuag Diversion road this year. (2017, May 18). Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://www.dpwh.gov.ph/DPWH/news/11658
- Villar opens 9.6-kilometer Bike-friendly DIVERSION road in Bulacan. (2019, May 09). Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://www.dpwh.gov.ph/dpwh/news/15485