Tarlac issues Holy Week traffic advisory

TARLAC CITY — Gov. Jose Yap Sr. here has approved a traffic advisory for motorists flocking from the metropolitan capital to the North for the five-day Holy Week break in order to help ease the heavy flow of vehicles, especially along the MacArthur Highway. The provincial chief executive has ordered Tarlac police provincial director, Senior Superintendent Mario Sandiego, to put all lawmen in the province under "extra alert" to prevent any untoward incident along major routes here linking Metro Manila to Northern Luzon cities and provinces.

Tarlac’s traffic advisory, which was prepared by retired Gen. Virgilio Florendo, chief of the provincial disaster coordinating council (PDCC), provides two alternate routes in order for private vehicles to avoid the anticipated heavy traffic buildup along the MacArthur Highway.

The first alternate route is the provincial road network at the eastern end of Tarlac that links the towns of Concepcion, La Paz, Victoria, Pura, Ramos, Anao, Paniqui, Moncada and San Manuel. Its entry point is in Concepcion town, either from the Concepcion-Magalang route shortly after coming out from the Sta. Ines exit of the North Luzon Expressway (NLE), or from the Concepcion-Capas intersection of the MacArthur Highway in Capas town.

There are three exit points from the alternate route, all of which are linked to the northern end of the MacArthur Highway in the province, namely in Paniqui, Moncada and San Manuel.

For motorists who are going to the western end of Pangasinan through Tarlac, Yap said they are advised to take the western circumferential road of the province in order to avoid traffic buildup along the Romulo Highway. The western road network is accessible in Capas town, and snakes through the upland towns of San Jose and Mayantoc. Its exit points are at Camiling and San Clemente towns, which are only a few kilometers away from Mangatarem in Pangasinan.— Benjie Villa