Law Summary
Definition of Limited Access Facility
- Defined as highways or streets designed primarily for through traffic.
- Owners or occupants of adjoining properties have limited or no rights of access, light, air, or view.
- Includes parkways (excluding trucks and commercial vehicles) and freeways open to regular traffic.
Authority to Establish Limited Access Facilities
- The Department of Public Works and Communications (DPWC) is empowered to plan, establish, regulate, and maintain such roads.
- Establishment within provinces, cities, or towns requires the consent of local government bodies.
Design of Limited Access Facility
- DPWC determines design, regulation, and access restrictions to optimize traffic flow.
- May divide roadways by physical or marked separations.
- Access points to limited access facilities are limited and controlled by DPWC.
Acquisition of Property and Property Rights
- DPWC may recommend acquisition of property rights by purchase, gift, devise or condemnation.
- Acquisitions include rights of access, light, air, and view.
- Entire lots or blocks may be acquired if beneficial to the public interest.
- Acquisitions are held in fee simple.
Preference of Condemnation Cases
- Condemnation proceedings for these facilities receive priority over other court cases not involving public interest.
- Aims to expedite acquisition processes.
New and Existing Facilities; Grade Crossing Eliminations
- DPWC may designate new or existing roads as limited access facilities.
- Authorized to eliminate at-grade intersections through grade separations, service roads, or closure.
- No new at-grade intersections without DPWC's consent, only granted if in the public interest.
Local Service Roads
- Local governments, along with DPWC, may establish and regulate local service roads adjacent to limited access facilities.
- Service roads are to be physically separated and properly designed.
Financing
- Congress must provide full funding for construction within an estimated period of three years.
- Initial expenses for surveys, planning, and acquisition are financed under existing laws.
- DPWC can also utilize financing schemes under related Republic Acts and bond proceeds.
- A specific one percent of the Highway Special Fund is dedicated to engineering and planning expenses.
Unlawful Use of Limited Access Facilities: Penalties
- Prohibitions include driving over dividing curbs or sections, unauthorized turns, wrong lane use, or improper ingress/egress.
- Violations are punishable under the Philippine Highway Act of 1953 and the Revised Penal Code.
Separability Clause
- Invalidity of any provision does not affect the remainder of the Act.
- Laws inconsistent with this Act’s provisions on limited access facilities are repealed to the extent of inconsistency.
Effectivity
- The Act takes effect immediately upon approval.