Holy Week express lanes to ease northbound travel

To prevent long vehicular queues, the Tollways Management Corp. will implement temporary changes in the payment scheme on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and also beef up personnel on the North Luzon Expressway in time for the Holy Week.

The company’s media relations officer Kiko Dagohoy said Holy Week express lanes will be opened along the 94-km SCTEx starting 2 p.m. on April 4 and will be closed on April 5 at 5 p.m., for Class 1 vehicles such as jeepneys, cars and vans.

Under a new express payment scheme, motorists exiting Dau, for example, may already pay the full toll at P218 at the Balintawak or Mindanao Avenue toll plazas, instead of making stops at both points.

“We just lumped together both payments (at the Dau exit and the Balintawak or Mindanao Avenue toll plazas) into one to avoid traffic,” Dagohoy explained.

Those exiting at Subic-Tipo or Tarlac may also give a lump sum of P408 and P322, respectively, Dagohoy said.

On NLEx, the TMC, which is based in Caloocan City, has deployed at least 20 additional tellers along the 84-km road. These “seasonal tellers” augmented the estimated 200 people making up the regular personnel.

To ease traffic at the Sta. Rita exit, Dagohoy also reminded motorists going to the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Isabela and Quirino, among others, that the new Balagtas interchange is already open. Kristine Felisse Mangunay