NLEX Corp. said Monday the capacity expansion of the 8.2-kilometer Subic Freeport Expressway is now 50-percent complete.
NLEX said construction activities for the P1.6-billion project were in various stages of development and were expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Two additional expressway lanes, two new spans at the Jadjad and Argonaut bridges and a new tunnel adjacent to the existing one are being built to transform the road into a four-lane expressway, which would improve traffic flow and road safety.
“By increasing the road capacity of SFEX, which traverses the provinces of Bataan and Zambales, transport of goods in and out of the Subic Freeport will be faster and easier. This would also mean that the expressway can accommodate more motorists at a given time,” said NLEX president and general manager J. Luigi Bautista.
New expressway-standard LED lights will also be installed to make night driving equally enjoyable and safe.
Bautisa said it teamed up with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to raise the elevation of the Maritan Highway-Rizal and Highway-Tipo Road Junction and enhance its drainage system to improve flood management in the area.
Full blast works on SFEX Capacity Expansion started in September 2019 and were halted following the declaration of enhanced community quarantine in the area. Construction resumed in mid-May after the lifting of enhanced community quarantine.
The SFEX Capacity Expansion project is expected to sustain Subic’s position as a prime business and leisure hub.
It is also being eyed to complement SBMA’s infrastructure development program, which includes widening of Freeport roads and improvement of airport, seaport and logistics facilities.
