Heavy traffic seen in major roads next week

MANILA, Philippines - A double-digit increase in the number of vehicles using major toll roads is expected during the Lenten break, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) said yesterday.

Rodrigo Franco, president of MPIC’s Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), said the volume of vehicles using the 86.7-kilometer North Luzon expressway (NLEX) and 94-km Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway (SCTEX) is expected to balloon due to the exodus of motorists traveling to and from the provinces this Holy Week.

Franco said traffic in NLEX is expected to increase by 11.1 percent to 200,000 vehicles per day from the average daily traffic of 180,000 while traffic in SCTEX is seen to grow between 10 percent and 15 percent to a range of 26,400 to 27,600 per day from the average 24,000 vehicles.

On the other hand, traffic along the 13.5-km Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (Cavitex) is expected to remain low during the Lenten break, he said.

Franco said MNTC launched “Safe Trip mo Sagot ko, Holy Week 2015 (SMSK),” a motorist assistance program in anticipation of the expected traffic increase in the three expressways.

SMSK motorist camps would be located in all fuel stations in NLEX, and one fuel station in Subic Freeport expressway as well as before the Parañaque toll plaza exit and the Kawit Toll Plaza along Cavitex.

In addition, SMSK Express Cards would be sold to motorists using Class 1 vehicles carrying a five percent discount on toll rates, Franco said.

MNTC assistant vice president for technology and operations management Glenn Campos said northbound traffic is expected to build up in the afternoon of April 1 or Holy Wednesday until late morning of April 2 or Maundy Thursday.

On the other hand, Campos said heavy traffic for motorists traveling back to Manila is expected to start in the afternoon of April 4 or Black Saturday up to late evening of April 5 or Easter Sunday.

He explained that cash paying motorists bound to far north would no longer stop at Dau northbound barrier to pay and should pay toll at the Mabalacat barrier in SCTEX.

However, Easytrip subscribers should still pass through their designated exit lanes at the Dau northbound barrier.

Campos added three temporary collection points would be opened at the Dau northbound flyover, Sta. Ines and Mabalacat on April 1 and 2. – With Ramon Lazaro