Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on Monday expressed gratitude to NLEX Corp. for implementing a temporary toll relief on the Balintawak to Meycauayan portion of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), following the Department of Transportation’s request to ease traffic congestion caused by ongoing emergency repairs at the Marilao Interchange Bridge.

The toll relief comes after Dizon instructed NLEX Corp. to expedite the bridge repairs, which are expected to be completed by the end of March.

“Nagpapasalamat po ang DOTr at buong pamahalaan sa NLEX Corp. dahil ‘yung hiniling natin sa kanila na i-libre muna ‘yung toll sa area na grabe ang traffic sa expressway. Maraming salamat po kay Mr. Manny Pangilinan at sa leadership ng NLEX at Metro Pacific Tollway Corp.,” Sec. Dizon said.

(The DOTr and the entire government thank NLEX Corp. for granting our request to temporarily waive the toll in the area heavily affected by traffic on the expressway. Many thanks to Mr. Manny Pangilinan and the leadership of NLEX and Metro Pacific Tollway Corp.)

He added that the move would provide some relief to motorists and commuters affected by the heavy gridlock that has stretched from Balintawak to Bocaue since the partial closure of the expressway.

"Malaking bagay po ‘yan para kahit papano naman mabawasan naman yung hirap ng mga kababayan natin na naaaberya ngayon dahil sa construction sa Marilao,” he added.

(That’s a big help in easing, even just a bit, the burden of our fellow citizens who are inconvenienced right now due to the construction in Marilao.)

The toll relief will remain in place until the repairs at the Marilao Interchange Bridge are completed.

NLEX Corp. earlier closed two middle lanes of the Marilao section of the expressway to conduct 24/7 safety repairs on the damaged bridge, after a trailer truck — exceeding the allowable height limit — struck part of the interchange structure.