Upgrades to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) are on track to be completed by the end of the year, including expansion of its 36.1-kilometer main carriageway to six lanes each side as well as enhancements to its cashless toll collection system that will allow for barrier-less toll plazas said SMC SLEX, Inc.
The concession holder formerly known as the South Luzon Tollway Corporation says its continuing efforts are about future-proofing the tollway which serves as the main expressway in Region 4A which contributes about a fifth of the country’s domestic product.
SMC SLEX said that some 20 bridges along the SLEX carriageway are also currently being expanded, to further prevent traffic bottlenecks that result to vehicle buildup and slowdowns.
The expansion of these bridges aligns with the new six-by-six lane configuration of the carriageway to accommodate increasing vehicle traffic in SLEX, which serves high growth provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon.
“SMC SLEX Inc. understands the importance of SLEX in supporting the growth trajectory of the Calabarzon Region, which accounts for about 20 percent of the country's GDP,” the company said in a statement. “Once the facility upgrades are completed, it will improve the quality of travel of the general motoring public, and result to faster movement of goods and services as well.”
SMC SLEX also reiterated its commitment to continue investing on service improvements as it has throughout the last decade.
In 2022, the company implemented the Seamless Southern Tollways project, which reduced the number of stops motorists had to do when traveling along the Skyway System, SLEX, and Star Tollway.
The project likewise led to the decommissioning of the Calamba Main Toll Plaza, which used to be the terminus of SLEX, and SLEX Greenfield Toll Plaza, the terminus of Toll Road 3, which connects SLEX to Star Tollway at Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
Currently, the toll plazas are pass-through lanes and are scheduled to be demolished in line with the SLEX widening project.
The company has also equipped entry toll plazas along SLEX with automatic license plate readers (ALPR) which reduce the need for barriers there. The upgrades are likewise in line with the government's directive to implement contactless toll collection and barrier-less plazas along expressways.
Along with RFID tags, ALPR cameras cross-reference the entry and exit of vehicles by reading and recording their license plates for accurate charging of their toll.
The company is also upgrading its servers to further improve their capacity to handle the growing number of vehicles using the facility.
I hope they can finished it by end of 2024. The bottleneck will be the bridges which may eventually pushed the deadline to 2025. My guess is it will not be completely ready by end of Q1, 2025. I hope that SMC Infrastructure will do something in the poor condition of its existing tollway not only in SLEX but also Sky, SLEX-STAR connector and TPLEX. I don't want to make the impression that SMC infra as synonymous to poor quality vis-a-vis MPTC tollway
ReplyDeleteAny updates regarding the unified RFID wallet? Last I heard it was supposed to be implemented by July 2024.
ReplyDeletethat's purely PR "unified RFID", however SMC has been very aggressive in widening SLEX while at NLEX, oh my same same, bumpy roads, no lines, narrow exit road booths at "Balintawak" and etc.
DeleteOh NLEX meron service fee for using credit or bank transfer while SLEX none. You can compare who to companies think of their clients. One is service and other to make most money.
DeleteThese toll operators need to put security at their entry and exit point. The other day, in Batino exit in Calamba, there is 1 small motorcycle that was able to exit and drove away in the direction of Nestle/Avon factory and who knows where it goes. Where it entered is a guess but the funny thing is the way it exited; it just veered to the right near the police station. If i remember it correctly it was around 6-7 pm when it happened. If an accident happened, the police will jail the legally allowed driver? If it happened to me, i will sue SMC or MPTC for that matter for negligence. Maybe i will earn money from such lawsuit
ReplyDeleteSlex exit near at star toolway exit is quite not commendable dahil masyadong malapit sa highway kaya nagkakabuhol buhol ang mga mga sasakyan
ReplyDeleteSMC Tollways should focus more on rehabilitating the dilapidated STAR Tollway, particularly the Lipa City-Batangas City segment of it. Driving there gives me serious back pain. That stretch of the road has wrecked countless suspension systems, it's not even funny. People should use that place as proving grounds for ride and comfort and have their test drives there. I doubt any dealer would allow it though.
ReplyDelete