The North Luzon Expressway, more commonly known by its abbreviation NLEx or NLEX, is a controlled-access highway in the Philippines. It connects the National Capital Region (or Metro Manila) to the provinces of the central part of Luzon, the main island in the country. Measuring 84 kilometers long, it starts at a cloverleaf-shaped interchange in Quezon City, where the controlled-access highway, the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, and the Bonifacio Avenue meet. It then passes through the settlements of Caloocan and Valenzuela in the capital area and the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga in Central Luzon. It ends at an exit in the settlement of Mabalacat and joins with the MacArthur Highway with the help of a road, continuing northward into the remaining part of Central Luzon and the Northern Luzon. The whole controlled-access highway has 4 to 8 lanes (with 2 to 4 lanes in each direction).