SFEX Capacity Expansion completion rescheduled to yearend 2020

Ruben Manahan Aug 11, 2020

By the time you're able to drive back to Subic, you might find the area easier for travel, with the additional lanes under the Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX) Capacity Expansion program now midway through.

The major road project for the enhancement of the 8.2-kilometer SFEX is targeted to be finished by the end of 2020.

NLEX Corporation President and General Manager J. Luigi Bautista said that the P1.6-billion project is expected to ease traffic conditions to and from the freeport zone once regular mobility and transportation is back.

“By increasing the road capacity of SFEX, which traverses the provinces of Bataan and Zambales, transport of goods in and out of the Subic Freeport will be faster and easier. This would also mean that the expressway can accommodate more motorists at a given time,” he said.

SFEX Capacity Expansion

The project is made up of two additional expressway lanes, two new spans at the Jadjad and Argonaut bridges, and a new tunnel adjacent to the existing road, effectively making the said road a four-lane expressway.

Aside from that, the NLEX Corporation will also install expressway-standard LED lights to ensure proper illumination in the area during night drives.

Bautista also said that they will also elevate Maritan Highway-Rizal and Highway-Tipo Road Junction, as well as augment the drainage system.

“In partnership with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), we have also included in the project scope the raising of elevation of the Maritan Highway-Rizal and Highway-Tipo Road Junction and enhancing its drainage system to improve flood management in the area,” the NLEX head noted.

Construction works for SFEX Capacity Expansion started last September 2019 and was supposed to be finished during the third quarter of this year, but the COVID-19 came and put a halt to the construction works. Construction resumed in mid-May after the lifting of ECQ.

The particular project from the NLEX Corporation is expected to complement the SBMA’s infrastructure development program and maintain the area’s position as a prime business and leisure hub.

Photo/s from NLEX Corporation