MANILA, Philippines – Vehicular volume at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) during the Holy Week reached a daily average of 400,000, the tollway management said Friday.
NLEX Corporation said this year’s traffic volume exceeded the expected 15 percent increase.
North Luzon Expressway. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD REYES
READ: NLEX, Cavitex expect 15-20% traffic surge for Holy Week 2019
Tollway, personnel management
“On Maundy Thursday, we implemented counterflow in San Fernando to address the traffic build-up caused by high volume of vehicles going to the provinces,” NLEX Corp. president and general manager Luigi Bautista said in a statement.
“Toll collection points were added in Tarlac on the same day and in Bocaue on Black Saturday and Easter Sunday to better accommodate motorists returning to Manila,” he added.
NLEX Corp. said it has deployed more than 700 tellers and patrol officers at the expressways to address the influx of motorists.
Its personnel also extended working hours to closely monitor and manage the high volume of vehicles in Balintawak, Mindanao Avenue, Bocaue, Tarlac, San Miguel, and Tipo toll plazas.
A maximum of 24 toll collection points were opened at the Balintawak Toll Plaza, while Mindanao Avenue and Tarlac toll plazas opened 10 to 20 collection points, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Bocaue toll plaza had a maximum of 59 collection points for motorists.
Photo shows a section of the SCTEX. INQUIRER FILE
No major accident
Despite the increase in traffic volume, no major accident was recorded during the Holy Week, NLEX Corp. said.
The management attributed this to the deployment of traffic patrol crews and the incident response team at strategic areas, which resulted to faster response times to vehicle breakdowns and other minor incidents.
Highway patrols, roadside assistance
Bautista said the increased visibility and prompt response of NLEX-SCTEX patrol teams contributed to a better-managed traffic flow and instilling discipline among motorists.
The tollway company’s data showed over 6,000 motorists received asisstance assisted — be it for first aid treatment, drinking water, basic mechanic and towing services — from April 17-21.
Data also revealed that 1,416 incidents were responded with an average response time of 11 minutes.
A total of 322 Class 1 vehicles were also given free towing assistance during the said period.
Bautista lauded all NLEX-SCTEX personnel for serving the public during the Holy Week.
“At NLEX Corporation, we take pride in our committed and persistent employees who always go out of their way to ensure safe and convenient journeys for the public,” he said. /gsg