Metro Pacific Tollways gears up for ‘Undas’

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1051888
• Tuesday, October 23, 2018 4:36 pm

By Marna Dagumboy Del Rosario and Manny Balbin (PNA)

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga -- The Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) announced on Tuesday the boosting of service capacity of its expressway network to provide more convenient travel to the public, particularly in the coming holidays.

MPTC is the holding company of North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic- Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), and Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX).

MPTC president and CEO Rodrigo Franco, during the “Safe Trip Mo, Sagot Ko (SMSK)” press conference held at the Luxent Hotel in Quezon City, said they will continue to enhance traffic management and toll collection services for the convenience of motorists.

He said no road works will start from Oct. 26 to Nov, 5 this year on any of the three expressways.

Lawyer Romulo S. Quimbo Jr., NLEX Corporation senior vice president for communication and stakeholder management, said from Oct. 26 to Nov. 5, NLEX-SCTEX traffic management teams will adopt extended working hours to closely monitor and manage the expected high volume of vehicles in Balintawak, Mindanao Avenue, Bocaue, Sta. Ines, Tarlac, and Tipo toll plazas.

Additional patrol and incident response teams will also be deployed in critical areas to immediately assist motorists.

During the peak periods of Oct. 26, 28, 31, and Nov. 1, the Balintawak Toll Plaza will open a maximum of 28 toll collection points while Mindanao Avenue, Tarlac, and Tipo toll plazas will open a maximum of 10, 20, and 6 toll collection points, respectively.

Portabooths and portable toll collection equipment will be used to lessen motorists’ waiting time at the toll plazas.

By Oct. 28, Nov. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the Bocaue Toll Plaza will have a maximum of 60 collection points for southbound motorists. Toll tellers at the Tarlac Toll Plaza will be ready to issue pre-encoded transit tickets to motorists.

During the same period, CAVITEX will field more patrol teams to manage the traffic and assist motorists.

Construction along the mainline road at the NLEX-SCTEX-CAVITEX will be suspended from Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. to Nov. 5 at 9 a.m.

The MPTC and its partners will likewise set up SMSK Motorist Camps and provide free calls, Wi-Fi, drinking water, basic mechanic services and first aid treatment in designated locations.

The SMSK will also provide 24-hour free towing services to the nearest exit for Class 1 vehicles from Oct. 31, 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. of November 4.

“One of the advanced enhancement for the digital world of MPTC is real-time traffic situation at the NLEX-SCTEX, which can now be viewed via Facebook Live on the NLEX Corporation Facebook page from Oct. 31-Nov. 4,” Franco said.

In the expansion projects, the NLEX Corporation is constructing new toll lanes in four toll plazas in Pampanga aimed at matching the rapid pace of the province’s traffic growth.

Among these toll plazas are in San Fernando (southbound entry and exit), Mexico, and Angeles.

“Two more toll lanes at the San Fernando southbound (SB) exit and one additional toll lane at the SB entry are in the works to accommodate the increasing traffic volume. The Angeles toll plaza will be augmented with two entry lanes and one exit lane, while another toll lane will be built at the Mexico northbound exit. Additional lanes will likewise be constructed at the connecting ramps of NLEX and SCTEX in Mabalacat City," Franco said.

Meanwhile, the Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation is set to fully open the Marina left-turning flyover to pave way for smoother traffic flow and eliminate the existing traffic lights.

All these enhancements are expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

In toll and traffic system enhancements, Renato Punzalan, vice president for Tollways Development and Engineering South, said the MPTC continues to innovate through systems enhancements in NLEX, SCTEX, and CAVITEX in an effort to elevate customer experience.

“To accommodate the increasing number of Easytrip subscribers, some cash and mixed toll lanes in NLEX will become exclusive electronic toll collection (ETC) lanes,” Punzalan said.

“From 15 exclusive ETC lanes in 2017, NLEX will now have 27 exclusive ETC lanes for Easytrip subscribers. At Cavitex, two toll lanes at the Parañaque Toll Plaza will be converted to exclusive RFID lanes,” he added.

Over at the SCTEX, four emergency call boxes (ECB) are currently being installed at Dinalupihan (Subic-bound), Porac (Subic-bound), Dolores (Tarlac-bound), and San Miguel (Tarlac-bound) to ensure the security and safety of motorists.

Punzalan noted that the call boxes will enable distressed motorists to directly and quickly reach the SCTEX Traffic Control Room and allow SCTEX teams to respond faster.

"The new call boxes are also equipped with cameras for better roadside management," he said.

Meanwhile, variable electronic message signs providing useful and updated traffic information will also be put up at the Floridablanca (Subic-bound), Concepcion (Subic-bound), Porac (Tarlac-bound), and Bamban (Tarlac-bound) interchanges.