Traffic horror on NLEX

MANILA, Philippines - It looked more like a giant parking lot than an expressway as thousands of commuters and motorists were trapped since early yesterday in monster traffic jams on the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) from Meycauayan in Bulacan to Balintawak in Caloocan City.

The gridlock started as early as 6 a.m., causing many students and workers from the Bulacan area to be late for school or work. Some just decided to return home.

NLEX, confronted with a barrage of complaints on its Twitter account NLEX Traffic, initially blamed the “one truck lane policy at Manila area.”

“The policy is everyday,” it added.

At around 5 p.m., however, NLEX Traffic posted, “Please disregard earlier tweet regarding MMDA implementing one truck lane policy.”

Crisey Magpayo, a commuter from Bulacan, told The STAR that the bus she was riding, which was in the area of Valenzuela at around 6:30 a.m., managed to get past the gridlock after four hours.

But it was brisk business for ambulant vendors selling candies, crackers, cigarettes, water and other bottled drinks on the expressway.

In a statement, Marlene Ochoa, vice president for corporate communications of the Manila North Tollways Corp., apologized for the heavy traffic.

“To help ease the situation, we are deploying more traffic patrol teams in coordination with MMDA to direct traffic in Edsa Balintawak Cloverleaf, Mindanao Avenue Link and Balintawak-Bonifacio Road. The traffic patrols will guide trucks to the inner lanes dedicated to them while also guiding cars and other vehicles to the free lanes,” she said.

“Our Bocaue toll plaza tellers have also been instructed to provide traffic updates to motorists. This is in addition to the updates on @Nlex Trafficon Twitter and Nligtas app,” she added.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino admitted that the heavy traffic was caused by the “one truck lane policy” and by trucks queuing on a narrow portion of the C-3 Road going to NLEX.

There is no relief in sight as motorists were warned to brace for heavy traffic in the coming days as the MMDA and local government units will implement two weeks of 24-hour “last mile truck routes” to decongest the Port of Manila of shipping containers.

The Cabinet Cluster for Port Congestion on Tuesday approved the implementation of the last mile truck routes from Sept. 8 to 22.

Tolentino told reporters yesterday that his agency would be issuing stickers for free that would be attached to trucks using the last mile routes.

The stickers are technically passes, allowing trucks to transport shipping containers even during the truck ban hours for two weeks, except along specific roads where the truck ban hours will be strictly observed.

Trucks availing of the last mile truck routes will also have their rear bumpers painted with the identifying sign “LASMAYL.”

Tolentino said trucks with stickers would be allowed to go through the roads of Metro Manila from the Port of Manila to their respective warehouses for 24 hours except on EDSA, España Boulevard in Manila (from Quezon Boulevard to Welcome Rotonda), Ortigas Avenue (from Santolan to Sta. Lucia), Katipunan (from Santolan to Commonwealth Avenue), Recto (from A. Santos to Legarda) and Taft Avenue where the truck ban hours of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. are still in effect.

Trucks with stickers can use other Metro Manila roads even during the truck ban hours, but trucks without stickers will have to observe the truck ban hours in all roads, the MMDA said.

Trucks with stickers will, however, not be allowed to park in any Metro Manila road or street.

The MMDA said a truck with sticker that would be caught parking on any Metro Manila road or street or would be caught on EDSA, España, Ortigas, Katipunan, Recto and Taft Avenue during the truck ban hours would be apprehended and the owners fined P5,000.

The MMDA would also recommend the blacklisting of the trucking company.

Tolentino clarified that only cargo trucks which would pull out shipping containers from the Port of Manila on a Sunday or Monday morning up to noon would be allowed to use the last mile truck routes for one week, from Sept. 8 to 15.

Another sticker will be issued for trucks intending to use the last mile truck routes from Sept. 15 to 22. – With Aurea Calica