Motoring Today Column

Aug 21, 2019

It's too early for the Christmas holidays but traffic is becoming as dense as the ones we associate with the yuletide season.

Either people are doing their Christmas shopping earlier or the number of vehicles keeps on increasing too fast that our already choked roads are choking some more.

Either way - if they are shopping or there are more vehicles on the road - it means that our economy must be doing well and people have more purchasing power.

Is that good or is that bad? Well, it is good that people have more money to spend (observe that restaurants and malls are always full), while it is definitely bad that traffic takes away the productive time of people who spend hours on the road.

News of new spaces to accommodate the vehicles is a big item these days; it's in the evening news, the newspapers and it gets some attention in social media.

As I write this column, the opening of NLEX Balagtas Northbound Entry has been set Tuesday, August 20, with DPWH Secretary Mark Villar making the ceremonial drive through together with the Toll Regulary Board (TRB) and Bulacan LGU officials.

The 600-meter NLEX Balagtas Northbound Entry will provide direct access to motorists coming from Balagtas Interchange going to NLEX Northbound. At present, motorists headed for the north from Balagtas or Plaridel Bypass have to pass through local roads and enter NLEX Northbound via Sta. Rita in Guiguinto, Bulacan.

But that's not the only solution to traffic congestion that NLEX Corporation is now implementing through its P7.7 billion road projects to help alleviate traffic congestion in Metro Manila and key areas of NLEX-SCTEX network. The projects include new interchanges, new bridges and new expressway lanes.

One of its projects that will directly alleviate the traffic woes of motorists coming or leaving Manila from the north will be the completion of the 2.6-kilometer NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 C3-R10 section. This stretches from C3 Road inCaloocan City to Radial Road 10 in Navotas City.

That road will be completed by December and will connect to the recently opened 5.6-kilometer NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 that passes through Karuhatan, Valenzuela City, Governor Pascual Avenue in Malabon City, and the newCaloocan Interchange in 5th Avenue/C-3 Road in Caloocan City.

This will provide direct access to the port area and the people living in the north of Metro Manila, such as Quezon City.

DOTr's helps to solve traffic issue

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is complementing the efforts of the DPWH to solve the traffic problem.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade has been meeting with mayors of local government units (LGUs) to ensure efficient coordination between the national and local governments.

In Bacoor, Sec. Tugade met withBacoor City Mayor Lani Mercado-Revilla and Cavite 2nd District Congressman Strike Revilla last week. Both parties agreed on the construction of an additional common station between Aguinaldo Highway and Molino Blvd . for the LRT-1 Cavite Extension project. They also agreed on the development of the smart-signaled intersection or road interchange in Brgy. Zapote V to connect all roads.

It was also agreed that the LGU will convert tricycles to modern jeepney franchises that will follow the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

LRT-1 Cavite Extension

Meanwhile the LRT-1 Cavite Extension project is now20 percent complete. By the end of 2021, this 11.7-kilometer rail extension line will open the first five stations -Redemptorist, MIA, Asiaworld, Ninoy Aquino, and Dr. Santos.

It will be linked to the existing line south ofBaclaran Station, and will run all the way to Niog in Bacoor, Cavite.

When completed by the end of 2021, travel time betweenBaclaran to Cavite will take only 25 minutes! Today, that commute takes two hours on a good day - and more during the Christmas season.

North South Commuter Railway System

In Calamba, Sec. Tugade met with Mayor Justin Marc Chipeco to discuss the implementation of the PNR Calamba and PNR Bicol, and a bypass road to directly connect theSouth Luzon Expressway (SLEX) to Los Baños.

PNR Calamba is part of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR)System, which shall have a total length of 148 kilometers, with 36 stations, and will be fully elevated, double-tracked, and running on electricity.

When completed, the line will cross three regions(Central Luzon, NCR, and Region 4A CALABARZON) and 26 Local Government Units (LGUs).

Commuters will be able to travel from Calamba to Clark International Airport in one hour 44 minutes on one of the integrated railway system's train.

Happy Motoring!!!

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