Traffic surge seen on toll roads during Holy Week

MANILA, Philippines - Infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) expects a 30-percent surge in the volume of vehicles along major toll roads during the Holy Week.

The Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), Cavite Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) and Tollways Management Corp. (TMC) have suspended all roadwork maintenance and repair as they launched their yearly motorist assistance program.

MPTC president Ramoncito Fernandez said during the launch of the “Safe Trip Mo, Sagot Ko” project, the volume of traffic at the 84-kilometer North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the 90-km Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) is expected to increase by 30 percent next week.

Fernandez said the average daily traffic at NLEX is currently at 181,000 while volume at SCTEX is pegged at 29,000.

He said traffic at the 14-km Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) is expected to remain normal at about 101,000 per day.

MNTC president Rodrigo Franco said traffic buildup of outbound vehicles is expected to begin on the afternoon of Holy Wednesday up to around noon of Holy Thursday.

Franco said traffic buildup of inbound vehicles is expected on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday as motorists return from the provinces.

The same heavy traffic is also expected after Good Friday as vacationers start returning to Metro Manila.

The same number of vehicles is expected to pass through the NLEX, SCTEX, and Cavitex for their return journey starting on the afternoon of Black Saturday until late evening of Easter Sunday.

Additional lanes would be opened to speed up the passage of vehicles through the toll gates during peak hours while traffic personnel would be required to work extra hours to ensure efficient traffic management.

Motorists can enjoy free Wi-Fi and phone calls at selected toll service facilities along the expressways.

For his part, CIC president and chief executive officer J. Luigi Bautista said the toll road operator expects an increase in traffic and high usage during the Holy Week.

He said Cavitex would beef up its manpower, complement and deploy additional traffic patrol officers to conduct round-the-clock mobile patrol at toll plazas.

Glenn Campos, assistant vice president for technology and operations management of MNTC, said maintenance works and repair would be limited to the roadsides and shoulders to avoid hampering traffic flow.

He said normal road maintenance and repair would resume on April 22.