New route to speed up travel to north

THIS SECTION of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway in Gerona town, Tarlac province, started serving motorists in December 2013. A new section in Rosales town will open on Wednesday. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

DAGUPAN CITY—Travelers bound for provinces in northern Luzon will find their travel times cut by 20 minutes to an hour on Holy Week, with the April 16 opening of a section of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) to traffic.

The 26-kilometer stretch of TPLEx spans Paniqui town in Tarlac province to Rosales town in Pangasinan province, said Narchito Arpilleda, information officer of the Department of Public Works and Highways district office in Rosales.

Victory Liner buses ferrying travelers to Baguio City this week expect to cut the deluxe bus trips from five hours to four hours and 40 minutes, said Juan Banag, a dispatcher of the firm’s Baguio terminal.

The firm’s regular air-conditioned trips to and from Metro Manila, however, won’t automatically take the newly opened route, he said, because many of their passengers head for Tarlac towns that are out of the way.

TPLEx, which will run until Rosario town in La Union province, is expected to be completed by 2015 and is intended to reduce the travel time from Metro Manila to the summer capital from six to seven hours down to four hours.

TPLEx is an extension of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), which is in turn an outgrowth of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). In a telephone interview, Arpilleda said motorists, after taking this newly opened section of TPLEx, would encounter ongoing repair work in some sections of the Manila North Road (MacArthur  Highway) in the Pangasinan towns of Villasis, Binalonan, Pozorrubio and Sison, and Urdaneta City.

“We have asked the contractors to clear their areas of equipment and provide sufficient warning signs during Holy Week,” Arpilleda said.

He said his office had also asked the Philippine National Police to help them direct motorists to alternative routes in the event of traffic buildup.

To avoid the road repair sections, motorists heading for Baguio City, La Union and the Ilocos provinces can take the Magilas Trail, which traverses the towns of Rosales, Sta. Maria, Asingan and Binalonan, he said.

Arpilleda said pilgrims going to the Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag in Manaoag town could pass through Villasis and Urdaneta City, or through the Magilas Trail. But from Binalonan, motorists should turn left to Laoac town and then to Manaoag town.

The Pangasinan provincial tourism office in Lingayen town had earlier advised tourists visiting the beaches and Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos City to take the Tarlac City exit of SCTEx.

From Tarlac City, they should take the Tarlac City-Camiling Road, then take the national highway traversing the towns of Mangatarem, Aguilar, Bugallon, Labrador and Sual, and Alaminos City. Beaches in the towns of Bani, Bolinao, Anda, Dasol, Burgos and Agno can be reached from Alaminos City.

In the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chair Roberto Garcia said the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) would implement an integrated toll fee payment for visitors of the free port starting April 16.

Under this scheme, all vehicles going to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone using the Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEx) will pay the combined toll fees for SFEx and SCTEx at the SCTEX Tipo collection plaza from April 16 to 20.

MNTC, which operates SFEx, SCTEx and NLEx, said in a statement that the special privilege for Subic-bound motorists is in response to SBMA’s request for a designated special lane. Gabriel Cardinoza and Jhoanna Marie Buenaobra, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon