NLEX to link to smallest Pampanga town

MANILA, Philippines — The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) is set to link soon to Sto. Tomas, Pampanga, the smallest and youngest town in the province, through the construction of a new interchange initiated by the government.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is building a Sto. Tomas Interchange that, when completed, would provide motorists direct access to the municipality without the need to go through service roads.

The project forms part of the Greater Pampanga Circumferential Road Master Plan that outlines road initiatives aimed at improving the traffic condition in Pampanga.

The Sto. Tomas Interchange would be connected eventually to the Lubao-Guagua-Minalin-Sto. Tomas bypass road that the DPWH is also paving.

The DPWH also intends to connect the exit to other projects down the line, including to a new hospital and university.

Pampanga Rep. Anna York Bondoc said infrastructure projects like the Sto. Tomas Interchange would contribute to increasing the investment viability of the town.

The project, once finished, would open the doors of Sto. Tomas to businessmen who want to set up shop in the south of Pampanga.

“The impact of this new interchange is huge, as it will raise the number of our businesses, push land values up and unlock new economic and job opportunities,” Bondoc said.

Although the DPWH is tasked to construct the interchange, the agency is partnering with the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and NLEX Corp. for its operations and maintenance.

NLEX Corp.’s parent Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) sees the Sto. Tomas Interchange as a key to decongesting the Olongapo-Gapan road, one of the busiest roads in Central Luzon.

MPTC president and CEO Rogelio Singson believes that the opening of an interchange in Sto. Tomas would create economic opportunities for the town and its people.