CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—NLEX Corp. will construct six interchanges worth P20 billion to help travelers reach the western parts of Pampanga, Bataan, and Zambales without passing through the congested Jose Abad Santos Avenue in the City of San Fernando, the company said.
Raul L. Ignacio, senior vice president for construction and engineering of NLEX Corp., said the project will create alternate routes past the congested San Fernando city downtown.
During a media forum here, Ignacio said the planned interchanges, composed of 38 kilometers of roads with two-by-two lanes, will start in Sto. Tomas, MacArthur, Bacolor, and Lubao towns in Pampanga and Dinalupihan in Bataan.
Ignacio said NLEX Corp. is also widening the northbound exit ramp of the San Fernando interchange—a project worth P28 million—for vehicles with higher capacities that would lead to faster transactions at the toll plaza.
The projects, which started June 25, 2017, are expected to be completed by March this year, he said.
The 118-kilometer Jose Abad Santos Avenue, formerly the Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo road, must be bypassed because it is lahar-affected, always congested, and prone to flooding specially during the rainy season, Ignacio said.
Named after former Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos by virtue of Republic Act 9477 signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo — now Pampanga’s 2nd District congresswoman — on May 22, 2007, the avenue remains the only toll-free road in the region.
The road starts in Gapan City in Nueva Ecija, passes through Pampanga and Bataan, and ends up in Olongapo City in Zambales.
San Fernando is the nerve center of Central Luzon, and has arteries of traffic as vehicles from various towns and provinces pass through the city, specially those coming to and going out of the North Luzon Expressway.
The city is also a rest area for motorists, and derives most of its income from the malls, restaurants, gasoline stations, fast food chains, banks, schools, shops, housing projects, condominiums, supermarkets, and business establishments in it.
When asked if the interchanges would isolate the city, Ignacio said that it is for progress and NLEX Corp. must satisfy the paying motorists.
The project is covered by NLEX Phase III amounting to P20 billion, and the Department of Public Works and Highways is still working on the rights of way that involves several months to finish, Ignacio said.