NLEX Corporation sees more than 350k motorists to use NLEX-SCTEX on All Saint’s Day 2022

The NLEX Corporation is expecting a daily average of more than 350,000 motorists who will use the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway in time for the upcoming All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

NLEX Corporation President and General Manager J. Luigi Bautista said in a statement that the company is projecting an increase of 10 percent in the average daily traffic at the two connecting thoroughfares. On regular days, the NLEX Corporation serves 278,000 motorists at NLEX and 71,000 at SCTEX.

In anticipation of the heavy volume of traffic in the coming holidays, the tollway operator will have the “Safe Trip Mo Sagot Ko” (SMSK) motorist assistance program.

The NLEX Corporation said that the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC)’s heightened traffic management initiatives will be done from October 28 to November 2 to safeguard the safety and convenience of motorists travelling for the said period.

“For 13 years that we have been doing the SMSK, our priority remains the same: to make sure that our motorists will have safe, efficient, and enjoyable travel experience,” NLEX Corporation President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista was quoted as saying.

The company said that during the aforementioned dates, the teams under traffic and toll operations will be fully deployed to manage the traffic situation and assist motorists. It shared that over 1,000 patrol crews, traffic marshals, security teams, incident response teams, and toll lane personnel will be fielded to provide immediate assistance to travelers.

The firm said that it will closely monitor the high-volume plazas namely Balintawak, Mindanao, Karuhatan, Valenzuela (Paso de Blas), Meycauayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Sta. Rita, Pulilan, San Simon, San Fernando, Clark South, Tarlac, Tipo, and Subic Freeport Expressway from October 28 to November 2.

With that, the NLEX Corporation encouraged motorists to travel during non-peak hours to avoid delays and inconvenience. The management said that the vehicle volume surge could happen in the afternoon to late night of October 28, 30 and 31, and November 1 as well as in the early morning to afternoon of October 29, November 1 and 2. 

Further, the tollway company said that the additional directional and road safety signs will be installed at strategic areas to further guide motorists.

Although the constructions and lane closures along the NLEX-SCTEX will be suspended, the NLEX Corporation noted that the repairs at the Candaba Viaduct as well as on areas where safety repairs are necessary will continue.

As the Candaba Viaduct undergoes repairs, only two lanes on the southbound portion are open for motorists. The leftmost lane is for large trucks or Class 3 vehicles while the rightmost lane is for light vehicles or Class 1. Due to limited capacity at the bridge, Class 3 will be restricted at both bounds from November 1, 12 a.m. midnight to November 2, 12 p.m..

Moreover, the NLEX Corporation will implement a counterflow scheme at select locations along the NLEX northbound direction from October 28-31 and along the southbound direction from November 1- 2.

Similar to the previous SMSK programs, the NLEX Corporation will provide free towing service to the nearest exit for Class 1 vehicles from October 28, 6 a.m. to November 2, 6 a.m.

Motorists are also reminded to check their vehicles before travelling to avoid any untoward incidents.

Furthermore, the NLEX Corporation is urging cash-paying motorists to shift to RFID to avoid queuing at the cash lanes. Those who have no RFID may have the sticker installed for free and pay the initial load. Meanwhile, those who are already RFID users are advised to put enough credits to make sure that their accounts have enough balance.

NLEX Corporation also said that all customer service centers will be open on regular business hours on October 28, 29, 31, and November 2 from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. They will also be operational on November 1 from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Motorists may also check the regular traffic situation and send inquiries/concerns via NLEX Corporation’s Facebook and Twitter accounts (@nlexexpressways) or call the 24/7 hotline: 1-35000.

Photos from Ruben D. Manahan IV, NLEX Corporation

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MPTC rolls out measures in anticipation of high traffic volume for upcoming All Saints' Day observance

MPTC: Holiday traffic tollway surge reaches pre-pandemic levels