As thousands of Filipinos are expected to return to Metro Manila after the long holiday break, the NLEX Corporation assured motorists that it can handle the surge in traffic at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) this weekend.
The tollway company said that it has activated its “Safe Trip Mo Sagot Ko“ program to assist motorists travelling for the long weekends and holidays.
“As the holidays come to a close and usher in the new year, we want to assure our motorists of fast, safe, and comfortable travel through all these preparations in place at the NLEX and SCTEX,” said NLEX Corporation president and general manager Luigi Bautista.
NLEX is expecting traffic to build up at 12 p.m. today.
Patrol crews will manage traffic flow at the Mabalacat and NLEX spur ramps, which are common choke points heading to NLEX from SCTEX, as well as at Bocaue, Mindanao, and Balintawak exits. Incident response teams are also ready to setup counterflow lanes to ensure smoother traffic flow.
Pre-encoded transit tickets will also be issued to cash-paying motorists to speed up transactions at the Tarlac Toll Plaza entry lanes. The company advised that motorists paying cash to use the rightmost and leftmost lanes while the other lanes are for motorists with an ETC subscription, Easytrip RFID sticker, or Easytrip tag/transponder.
NLEX will open up to 60 collection points at the Bocaue Toll Plaza to hasten customer toll transactions.
The company also advised motorists to observe the speed limit along the expressway for safety. It said that NLEX speed teams are deployed at strategic locations to apprehend speeding motorists. It reminded that the maximum speed for cars is 100kph, 80 kph for trucks and buses while the minimum speed for all types of vehicles is 60 kph.
“While the company strictly enforces traffic laws and regularly improves road conditions, it is also important that drivers practice road safety by maintaining safe driving distance to avoid untoward incidents,” Bautista said.
Meanwhile, free towing services to the nearest exit will still be available for cars or Class 1 vehicles from January 4 (6 a.m.) to January 6 (6 a.m.). Emergency medical services will be augmented to provide quick motorist assistance.
