MANILA — All four lanes of Marilao northbound at the North Luzon Expressway fully reopened early Wednesday. 

NLEX Corporation said all lanes were passable to vehicles since 1 a.m. 

"With this development, traffic flow in Marilao Northbound is expected to improve and normalize in the next few days," it said in a statement. 

It added that supporting steel poles would remain on the lanes to allow concrete curing of the bridge.

The Marilao Bridge sustained damage after an over height truck exceeding the vertical clearance rammed into the structure on March 19.

In a statement, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) thanked NLEX for reopening the affected expressway segment one week ahead of schedule.

NLEX Marilao northbound lanes to fully open March 26

"This will now allow close to normal travel times, so that commuters and motorists on NLEX can spend more valuable time with their families and reach their destinations promptly," the DOTr said.

NLEX initially said it expected to finish the repairs by March 31, but Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon demanded that the bridge be repaired in one week.

Repair of Marilao Interchange Bridge to take 2-3 weeks

He had also asked the NLEx to suspend its toll collection in its Marilao segment while the repair was ongoing.

Transport chief wants NLEX to suspend toll collection in Marilao area over traffic mess