‘Carmageddon’ continues on SLEx

Construction work on a section of the South Luzon Expressway causes heavy traffic. INQUIRER PHOTO / YÑIGO FERRAZ, CONTRIBUTOR

THE “carmageddon” experienced by motorists on the northbound lane of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) continued for the second day Thursday, with traffic stretching for 24 kilometers — or starting from the Eton exit in Santa Rosa, Laguna to Alabang, Muntinlupa.

A report published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer Friday said the gridlock caused commuters to report for work or school late, if not missed appointments or flights.

The reason for heavy traffic is the indefinite closure of the Skyway at-grade’s outermost lane right after the Alabang Viaduct to give way to the construction of pylons for the six-kilometer extension of the Skyway, from Barangay Cupang to Susana Heights.

At least 370,000 vehicles use SLEx every day, while around 196,000 ply Skyway daily, according to data from the Toll Regulatory Board as of June.

The SLEx carmageddon happens just as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported that Manila is now the most congested natural city — those with a population of at least five million — out of 278 cities in Asia.

Citing the ADB report, the Inquirer said commuters in Manila could not even take public transport for a substantial portion of their commute, and travel by public transport takes three times as long compared with using private cars.

The ADB report based its findings on a random sampling of hot spots in each city and on Google Maps to determine the travel time between these locations during peak hours.

San Miguel Corp. (SMC) Tollways — operator of SLEx and Skyway — admitted that the ongoing construction project was to blame for the carmageddon, which persisted day and night, even on nonpeak hours.

For the meantime, a “stop-and-go” traffic scheme is being implemented on the East Service Road near Kawasaki Motors Corp. in Cupang for motorists to pass through. A southbound SLEx zipper lane was also opened for counterflow.

SMC Tollways issued an apology. “When this project is finished, traffic flow will be faster and more comfortable. We are doing everything we can in order for the construction to be finished at an earlier time,” it said.

The Inquirer reached the Toll Regulatory Board for comment, but it had yet to respond. 

The construction of the Skyway Extension project in Muntinlupa began in August. Once completed by December 2020, the P10-billion project would extend the elevated expressway from Cupang to Susana Heights at Barangay Tunasan, also in Metro Manila’s southernmost city.