2017 a banner year for NLEX Corp
2017 was a banner year for NLEX Corp., according to its president and chief executive officer Rodrigo Franco.
It was the year when the company built new kilometer lanes, expanded toll plazas, enhanced interchanges, opened new exits, installed additional roadway lighting and diversified electronic payment options. “2017 was a defining period where we will build on our accomplishments and bring to completion big ticket projects slated for 2018, ” Franco said.
NLEX Corp. operates both the 97-km North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the 94-km Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).
“We are heartened by the realization that we indeed have made travelling through our tollways safer, faster and more comfortable,” Franco said, adding that “more expansion and enhancement projects are on the way this year that will provide further comfort and convenience to motorists. ”
Among the projects completed in 2017 for North Luzon Expressway are the 64 lane kilometers of world class expressway.
“The additional lane ki- lometers expanded the road capacity of NLEX in heavy traffic areas, and thus enhanced free flow of traffic,” Franco said.
Three toll plazas in Balintawak, Mindanao Ave. and Meycauayan were also expanded. According to Franco, the expanded toll lanes effectively provide more “breathing space” toll plazas, and reduced long queues of vehicles.
NLEX also constructed three new exits – Lingunan, Libtong, and Pandayan – catering to about 13,000 vehicles coming in and out of the city via NLEX.
The groundbreaking of R-10 section of the NLEX Harbor Link Project, a 2.6kilometer continuation of the 5.7-kilometer NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10, was also held in 2017. Its vital role is to provide direct access from the Port Area to northern Luzon provinces, via NLEX.
According to Franco, NLEX diversified its electronic payment options in 2017. Motorists traversing NLEX can now pay their tollway fees by using their Easy Trip RFID, beep cards, and Mastercard contactless debit, prepaid and credit cards, including their Smart Mastercard powered by PayMaya. This resulted in faster, more secure and more convenient transactions at the toll booths.
Over at Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), Franco said NLEX Corp. has completed the rehabilitation of the entire SCTEX pavement from Tipo to Tarlac, thus increasing the comfort and convenience of motorists in the area.
NLEX Corp. has also modernized the SCTEX Traffic Control Room, featuring a central traffic management system that monitors 24/7 real-time traffic. The com- pany also installed over 100 CCTV cameras to keep close watch over SCTEX including toll plazas and toll booths. This also helped in monitoring and surveying what factors can be changed to provide better service for motorists and commuters. With all these accomplishments, the tollways firm hopes to continue making substantial improvements on NLEXSCTEX that will provide not only ease of travel, but also to spur growth in the communities traversed by the expressways.