Alabang traffic jams blamed on weigh bridges

Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon has blamed the daily monstrous traffic jam at the Alabang-Muntinlupa interchange on the Philippine National Construction Company’s (PNCC) defective "weigh bridges" and is bent on bringing this problem to the attention of the national government.

"The PNCC does not upgrade its facilities. For example, the weigh bridges are not working anymore," Biazon said.

The weigh bridges, Biazon said, are supposed to determine whether or not a truck can pass through the Alabang viaduct, depending on the vehicle’s weight.

The bridge, however, is no longer passable for heavy vehicles. But because these bridges had bogged down, PNCC automatically disallows trucks to pass through the viaduct even if the vehicle weighs less than the bridge’s load limit, Biazon said.

"The trucks are forced to pass through the interchange, which adds to the traffic (jam) in the area," he said.

The PNCC is a government owned and controlled corporation (GOCC), which manages the North and South Luzon Expressways.

Earlier last year, the PNCC sought to increase the toll free in both expressways, as well as the Skyway System, to enable it to upgrade its facilities. But the increase was met with widespread protests, forcing President Arroyo to suspend the increase for six months. – Nikko Dizon