Alternate routes along North Luzon Expressway proposed

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — With the upgrading of the North Luzon Expressway (NLE) causing massive traffic bottlenecks that prolong travel time by over an hour, the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) has proposed alternative routes in time for the opening of classes with students from northern provinces trooping to Metro Manila.

Robbie Tanada, MNTC external relations and marketing manager, told The STAR that major work on the expressway is not expected to be finished until September this year.

Some 6,000 laborers are working in shifts round the clock on about 12 kilometers of the NLE from San Simon to this city.

With only one lane open to traffic in San Simon, northbound and southbound vehicles are alternated, prolonging travel time by about an hour.

During heavy rains triggered by tropical storm "Chedeng" last week, traffic got stalled for as long as four to five hours.

Since work on the $371-million upgrading project started last February, Tanada said only one lane of the NLE in San Simon has been open to traffic, as the flood-prone section of the northbound lane was being elevated by about two meters.

Tanada said the MNTC is suggesting alternate routes to motorists to ease up traffic volume along the expressway, particularly on June 6-9 and June 12-14 when the influx of students from northern provinces going to Metro Manila is expected to swell the average 1,600 vehicles cruising the road daily.

He said southbound motorists could take old routes on the expressway’s eastern side via Magalang, Mexico and San Luis, all in Pampanga, en route to Baliwag, Bulacan, and enter the expressway at the Pulilan, Sta. Rita or Bocaue interchanges.

Another route would be the MacArthur Highway in this city from where motorists could enter the expressway in Pulilan, way past the traffic chokepoint.

By September, Tanada said the northbound lane would be open and the southbound lane closed for upgrading. "But work on the closed lane would take only about two weeks, as it does not need embankment formation," he added.

The MNTC has asked the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) and Leighton Asia Ltd. of Australia, one of the project developers, to employ more traffic personnel and trucks in the coming days in anticipation of the increased traffic volume. — Ding Cervantes