Manila North Tollways Corp. said on Thursday it will spend P3.9 billion to upgrade North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway.
“Prior to the integration of NLEx and SCTEx last month, we have lined up a lot of enhancement works for both roads, putting priority on the convenience and safety of our motorists,” said MNTC president Rodrigo Franco.
The works that are being done simultaneously include pavement maintenance, road widening and toll plaza expansion.
MNTC allotted P2.6 billion of the total capital spending for a road widening project covering Segments 2 and 3 of NLEx that started in March to accommodate the growing number of vehicles plying the tollway.
The road widening project will expand the existing two-lane portion of NLEx between Sta. Rita and San Fernando to three lanes on both the northbound and southbound sides, while the current one-lane stretch between Dau and Sta. Ines will be expanded to two lanes on both sides.
MNTC is also investing P1 billion for the pavement improvement of the entire 94-km stretch of SCTEx from 2016 to 2018.
The 2016 pavement upgrade amounting to P305 million includes asphalt overlay and road patching of Porac in Pampanga to Concepcion in Tarlac, while the 2017 upgrade involves the repair from Porac to Floridablanca and from Concepcion to San Miguel. Pavement works in 2018 will cover the stretch of Floridablanca to Tipo and from San Miguel to La Paz.
Franco said the pavement upgrade on SCTEx was part of the company’s efforts to make the SCTEx’s pavement as smooth as that of the NLEx.
While the 2016 pavement upgrade for SCTEx has just recently started, the 2016 heavy maintenance program for NLEx is now halfway through completion. The P113-million project focuses on road patching of some northbound and southbound portions of NLEX from Valenzuela to Sta. Ines.
Also in progress is the expansion of the NLEx Bocaue Toll Barrier from 25 toll lanes to 33 toll lanes to enhance mobility of motorists using the Bocaue southbound toll plaza. The additional eight mixed lanes are being built at a cost of P206 million.
The project, which is set to be completed this year, involves the construction of an eight-lane skewed toll plaza at the southbound portion of NLEX Bocaue. Four pass-through lanes at the left side of the existing Bocaue Toll Barrier will be made to lead motorists to the new toll plaza.
“With all these enhancements in place, we are hoping to provide a more comfortable travel as well as raise the level of satisfaction of motorists plying our expressways,” said Franco.