SLEX Rehabilitation to commence by August

Those living or doing business South of Luzon will be delighted to hear that the main road network linking them to the rest of Luzon will undergo upgrades and rehabilitation.

The Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC), together with MMEC (MTD-Manila Expressway Corporation), has signed an agreement to start the upgrade and rehabilitation of South Luzon Expressway by mid-August of this year. Once fully completed, traffic down South will be a thing of the past as the rehabilitation plan is designed to improve traffic flow. The plan includes the rehabilitation of the Alabang Viaduct in Muntinlupa City, widening and rehabilitation of lanes from Alabang to Calamba, Laguna, and highway extension from Calamba to Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

The MTD Group, PNCC’s partner in this undertaking, is the second biggest toll road operator in Malaysia and is also an international toll road operator. Currently it has existing toll roads in India and Malaysia, and the Philippines will be the next once the SLEX rehabilitation is complete. The MTD Group is also among Malaysia’s top five construction companies, with various infrastructure projects in the ASEAN region as well as in South America.

Alabang Viaduct Rehabilitation

The Phase I of the plan is the rehabilitation of the Alabang Viaduct in Muntinlupa. Currently, it is a 6-lane bridge with a length of 1.2 kilometers. Due to its weak superstructure and non-compliance with the current earthquake code, trucks are not allowed to use the viaduct and are instead forced to take the at-grade section of the highway, which slows them down and causes heavy traffic. Bottlenecks are also imminent once the Skyway System is extended up to Alabang.

Upon rehabilitation, the viaduct will be widened to eight lanes. Slabs and girders will be replaced, and the existing columns and foundations will also be reinforced to conform to current earthquake standards.

Alabang-Calamba Rehabilitation and Expansion

Currently, this is where traffic down South is beginning to slow to a grind. Traffic on the four lane stretch after Alabang towards Calamba in Laguna is quickly building up, depending on the day and time of the journey. In addition, the fourteen bridges aren’t compliant with the current earthquake code.

To address the following problems, the Filinvest to Sta. Rosa section will be widened to eight lanes, for a total of 15.6 kilometers, and the remaining stretch towards Calamba will be widened to six lanes, for a total of 11.7 kilometers. All bridges in the aforementioned sections will be widened and strengthened.

Direct Access to the STAR

Currently, the expressway ends on the Calamba exit, wherein everybody must take the two-lane national highway. If the destination is Batangas, one is encouraged to endure the horrendous traffic in this area before making a right turn towards the STAR (Southern Tagalog Arterial Road) Tollway that eventually leads to the different towns in the said province. In due time, the STAR Tollway will also be extended to Batangas City, in which an international port resides.

The last phase of the project will entail the construction of a new four lane, 7.6 kilometer expressway that will connect SLEX to the STAR.

New SLEX in Two Years

All in all, the project is estimated at PHP 11 billion, with 30 percent equity and 70 percent long term loan coming most likely from Independent Financial Corporations. Interim financing will be provided by MTD from internal sources. The good news is, the Philippine government need not shell out money for the rehabilitation, except for matters concerning right-of-way acquisition, which is its duty in the first place.

Furthermore, if all government permits and right-of-way are obtained promptly, the rehabilitation will take only 24 months, or about two years, and the PNCC-MMEC consortium promises to fulfill this without disrupting the current traffic flow. Phase 1 starts on August, Phase 2 on September, and Phase 3 on October, all within this year. Hopefully, by the time the entire rehabilitation is completed, additional savings on the part of the road user will be realized due to faster and smoother traffic flow.