SMC Infra rolls out seamless southern tollways project

SAN Miguel Corp. (SMC) Infrastructure has implemented its “Seamless Southern Tollways” program which will eliminate the need for northbound and southbound motorists to do multiple toll stops within the expressways.

For years, it has been the expected travel pattern of Southern Luzon-bound motorists: stop for toll and encounter traffic buildups at the South Luzon Expressway’s (SLEx) Calamba toll plaza, the SLEx-Greenfield toll plaza, and then again at the Sto. Tomas exit, Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR).

Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista welcomed the announcement, saying it is a timely development heading into the high-traffic Christmas season, and would have significant long-term benefits for local economies.

“This is a welcome development for so many of our countrymen who will be heading home to the provinces this December. Usually, our expressways experience the heaviest traffic particularly in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Fortunately, it seems we will all have some relief starting this December, as our private partner toll operator, SMC Infrastructure, has successfully completed the work needed to make travel through SLEx, Skyway, and STAR, more seamless,” Bautista said.

“Our goal when we started was to cut down toll stops from five to just two — entry and exit — whether for electronic RFID or cash payments, for both southbound and northbound vehicles across all our southern tollways. With this, we can make trips for motorists faster, more seamless, and less stressful, as they will no longer need to endure long queues at multiple toll plazas within the expressways,” San Miguel Corp. President Ramon S. Ang said.

Ang also asked for the cooperation of motorists to help minimize traffic buildup, by ensuring their Autosweep accounts have sufficient balance, and to use the cash lanes if they have insufficient balance.