MANILA, Philippines - The NLEX, CAVITEX and SCTEX have drawn up contingency measures to cope with the expected surge of vehicles during the Holy Week.
The move has become a traditional exercise for the three expressways to ease traffic flow and make it more convenient for motorists as they turn up in droves for the traditional observance of the Holy Week in the provinces.
This project called “Safe Trip Mo, Sagot Koâ€, is a yearly motorist assistance of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC), Cavite Infrastructure Corporation (CIC), and Tollways Management Corporation (TMC) done in close coordination with the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).
NLEX is beefing up its field forces with the deployment of additional personnel to man major toll plazas specifically Balintawak, Bocaue, Mindanao Avenue, Dau and Mabalacat. At the SCTEX, manual lanes would be set up at the Tarlac and Tipo exits for the same purpose.
CAVITEX will beef up its manpower complement and augment its existing crew of traffic patrol officers, toll tellers and collectors and security personnel at the toll plazas. For evening travelers, the light bar of patrol vehicles will be turned on at night time during heavy traffic volume to increase patrol visibility.
Additional lanes would be opened to speed up the passage of vehicles through the toll gates during peak hours.
Traffic personnel in the three tollways would also be required to work extra hours to ensure efficient traffic management at any given time. In the same vein, additional patrol cars and traffic enforcers would be dispatched on April 16 to 21, to guarantee immediate response to emergency situations and assist distressed travelers.
Motorist camps will provide free first aid and mechanic services in strategic locations along the three expressways. Hydration and portalets will be provided in the motorist camps, including drums of water in case of overheated vehicles.
Motorists will also enjoy free Wi-Fi and phone calls in selected toll service facilities along the expressway to enable them to quickly connect to their loved ones.
According to MNTC, traffic volume would substantially increase from the daily average of 170,000 vehicles at the NLEX and 24,000 at the SCTEX. Traffic buildup of outbound vehicles is predicted to develop beginning in the afternoon of Holy Wednesday (April 16) up to around noontime the following day.
The same scenario of heavy traffic also develops after Good Friday as the vacationers start coming back to Metro Manila to resume their normal course of life.
Practically the same number of vehicles is expected to pass through the NLEX, the SCTEX and the CAVITEX for their return journey starting the afternoon of Black Saturday (April 19) until the late evening of Easter Sunday.
Meanwhile, maintenance works that could not be deferred would be limited to the roadsides and shoulders to avoid hampering traffic flow. Normal road work maintenance and repair would resume on April 22.
To be updated with the traffic conditions at the NLEX, motorists can log on the North Luzon Integrated Guide and Travel Advisory or NLIgtas through the NLEX-SCTEX website www.tollways.net.ph. A mobile application of NLigtas can also be downloaded through Android smart phones.
NLEX-SCTEX Twitter account: @nlextraffic and Facebook page: Travel On Great Roads are also available for motorists to check regular traffic updates. CAVITEX Twitter and Facebook accounts are @CaviteXpressway and CaviteXpressway respectively.