The number of vehicles passing along the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) increased by 14 percent last year compared to 2015, Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) President Rodrigo Franco disclosed.
Franco said the average number of vehicles using the SCTEX in 2016 was 45,000.
“The increase could also be attributed to the integration of SCTEX and NLEX,” said Franco.
On March 14, 2016, the SCTEX and North Luzon Expressways (NLEX) were fully integrated.
“We have been positive reviews because we continuously improve the roads and pavements at the SCTEX,” he added.
At the NLEX, there was a 9 percent increase of vehicles in 2016 compared to 2015, said Franco. He added that the daily average of vehicles passing along the NLEx was 200,000.
Meanwhile, the some P2.5-billion expansion projects of MNTC at the NLEX will be completed on schedule, Franco said earlier.
Franco, City Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales and other officials opened on December 2 the NLEx segment 3, which is at the northbound of the 93-kilometer expressway.
The four kilometer northbound carriageway was completed four months ahead of schedule. It cost P235 million.
Franco said it was completed in December instead of March 2017 “to better accommodate the expected surge of Holiday travellers this month.”
The former one-by-one lane areas at the NLEx Segment 3 are now widened to become two lanes on both northbound and southbound directions. The project included the construction of new northbound bridges at Balem and Quitanguil.
Franco said the Segment 2 road widening project costs P2.2 billion, which expands the two-lane portion between Sta. Rita and San Fernando to three lanes each direction, and is also ahead of schedule.
“We are coordinating with Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to meet the standards set by them. This takes time. So Segment 2 may be finished on time or little ahead of schedule,” said Franco.
NLEx Segments 2 and 3 are the areas where queues of vehicles usually form particularly during holidays when a lot of motorists leave Metro Manila for northern destinations, the MNTC said.