Solution pushed for NLEx traffic due to INC’s Philippine Arena

THE PROPOSED solution to the traffic nightmare that occurs on North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) whenever there is a big event at the Iglesia ni Cristo’s (INC) Philippine Arena is in the works.

Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) president Rodrigo Franco said the company was supporting calls for the construction of an NLEx toll exit exclusively for the arena, as earlier suggested by lawmakers in Quezon City and Bulacan province.

He said there had been talks with various Quezon City officials on the matter and that MNTC was supporting the proposal, since an exit at the Philippine Arena was planned even before the megastructure was inaugurated last year.

QC council resolution

Quezon City councilors recently filed a resolution asking MNTC to build an exclusive toll exit to the sprawling multipurpose venue to ease traffic on NLEx.

Opening this new access “will help decongest traffic at the Bocaue exit and will benefit the public living in Sta. Maria town, San Jose del Monte City, and nearby areas,” according to the resolution authored by District 2 Councilors Precious Hipolito-Castelo, Voltaire Liban, Roderick Paulate, Ranulfo Ludovica, Ramon Medalla and Estrella Valmocina.

Sought for comment on Saturday, Franco said “there is a plan to do that. The proposal is for the exit to be funded by Iglesia and then the national government will fund the access roads.”

He added that MNTC itself will provide the software and personnel to man the exit, and that its design was already being reviewed by the Toll Regulatory Board.

“There really is congestion in the Bocaue exit,” Franco noted. “We hope that the exit going to the arena will start (construction) this year,” he said, adding it could take a year to complete the facility.

Heavy ‘anniversary’ traffic

The Philippine Arena is touted as the world’s biggest indoor arena with seating capacity of 55,000. As the centerpiece of the INC centennial celebrations, it was formally opened in July 2014 in the 140-hectare Ciudad de Victoria tourism enterprise zone also developed by the religious group at the border of Bocaue and Sta. Maria towns in

Bulacan.

“More and more important social events are now being held in the Philippine Arena and the influx of participants causes great traffic in the area,” they noted.

Heavy traffic was recorded on NLEx on July 25 and 26 when the influential INC marked its 101st founding anniversary.

Earlier House call

A similar resolution calling for the new toll exit was filed in June by Quezon City and Bulacan lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

Quezon City Representatives Winston “Winnie” Castelo and Jose Christopher Belmonte and Bulacan Representatives Linabelle Ruth Villarica and Gavini Pancho addressed their House Resolution No. 2127 also to the MNTC, the developer-concessionaire of NLEx.

“A separate and exclusive tollgate in the area would mitigate traffic and provide convenience to the residents living therein,” they stressed. With a report from Veronica Roque