Candaba Viaduct

Candaba Viaduct
Northbound Lane of the Viaduct
Carries	North Luzon Expressway
Crosses	Candaba Swamps Pampanga River
Locale	Apalit, Pampanga (North) Pulilan, Bulacan (South)
Official name	Candaba Viaduct
Other name(s)	Pulilan–Apalit Bridge (STA 46+932 - 52+118)
Maintained by	Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC)
Characteristics
Design	Viaduct
Material	Concrete, asphalt
Total length	5,000 m (16,000 ft)
Width	12 m (39 ft) per direction
Height	15 m (49 ft 3 in)
History
Designer	Aas-Jakobsen
Constructed by	Philippine National Construction Corporation
Construction begin	1974
Construction end	1976
Opened	1977-present
Statistics
Toll	Yes (part of toll road)

The Candaba Viaduct (also known as Pulilan–Apalit Bridge) is a 5 kilometres (3 mi) bridge passing over the Candaba Swamp and adjacent Pampanga River in the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and connects the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan, hence its alternative name. Consisting of four lanes (two northbound and two southbound), it is one of the longest bridges in the Philippines. 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.

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 Ministry of Public Highways. The project was completed in 1977 and through Presidential Decree 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.

Overlooking Mount Arayat, 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.