MPTC sees 10% more traffic volume on ‘Undas’

Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the holding company of NLEX, SCTEX, and CAVITEX, expects traffic volume on its expressways to increase by 10 per cent for the All Saints' Day holidays.

On the average, NLEX has a capacity for 260,000 vehicles per day; SCTEX, 60,000 and CAVITEX, 140,000.

Now, the operator is boosting the service capacity of its entire expressways network to cope with demand, MPTC President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco announced during the opening of its “Safe Trip Mo Sagot Ko” (SMSK) motorist assistance program, now on its 9th year.

First if all, the NLEX Corporation is constructing new toll lanes in four toll plazas in Pampanga to match the rapid pace of the province’s traffic growth.

Among these toll plazas are the San Fernando (southbound entry and exit), Mexico, and Angeles.

A couple more toll lanes at the San Fernando southbound (SB) exit and one additional toll lane at the SB entry are in the works to accommodate the increasing traffic volume.

The Angeles toll plaza will be augmented with two entry lanes and one exit lane, while another toll lane will be built at the Mexico northbound exit.

Additional lanes will likewise be constructed at the connecting ramps of NLEX and SCTEX in Mabalacat City.

Meanwhile, the Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation is set to fully open the Marina left-turning flyover to pave way for smoother traffic flow and eliminate the existing traffic lights.

All these enhancements are expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

MPTC also continues to innovate through systems enhancements in NLEX, SCTEX, and CAVITEX.

To accommodate the increasing number of Easytrip subscribers, some cash and mixed toll lanes in NLEX will become exclusive electronic toll collection (ETC) lanes.

From 15 exclusive ETC lanes in 2017, NLEX will now have 27 exclusive ETC lanes for Easytrip subscribers.

At Cavitex, two toll lanes at the Parañaque Toll Plaza will be converted to exclusive RFID lanes.

At the SCTEX, four emergency call boxes (ECB) are currently being installed at Dinalupihan (Subic-bound), Porac (Subic-bound), Dolores (Tarlacbound), and San Miguel (Tarlac-bound) to ensure the security and safety of motorists.

The call boxes will enable distressed motorists to directly and quickly reach the SCTEX Traffic Control Room and allow SCTEX teams to respond faster.

The new call boxes are also equipped with cameras for better roadside management.

Meanwhile, variable electronic message signs providing useful and updated traffic information will also be put up at Floridablanca (Subic-bound), Concepcion (Subic-bound), Porac (Tarlac-bound), and Bamban (Tarlac-bound) interchanges.

As for the SMSK, NLEX-SCTEX traffic management teams will adopt extended working hours to closely monitor and manage the expected high volume of vehicles in Balintawak, Mindanao Avenue, Bocaue, Sta. Ines, Tarlac, and Tipo toll plazas from October 26 to November 5, 2018.

Additional patrol and incident response teams will be deployed in critical areas to immediately assist motorists.

During the peak periods of October 26, 28, 31, and November 1, the Balintawak Toll Plaza will open a maximum of 28 toll collection points while Mindanao Avenue, Tarlac and Tipo toll plazas will open a maximum of 10, 20, and 6 toll collection points, respectively.

Portabooths and portable toll collection equipment will be used to lessen motorist waiting time at the toll plazas.

By October 28, November 1, 2, 3 and 4, the Bocaue Toll Plaza will have a maximum of 60 collection points for southbound motorists.

Toll tellers at the Tarlac Toll Plaza will be ready to issue pre-encoded transit tickets to motorists.

During the same period, CAVITEX will field more patrol teams to manage the traffic and assist motorists.

Construction along the mainline road at the NLEX-SCTEX-CAVITEX will be suspended from October 26, 5:00 p.m. to November 5, 9:00 a.m.