The four-lane, 29-kilometer (two on the southbound and two on the northbound side) at-grade expansion is currently on schedule with a target completion time by the third week of December.

Meanwhile, construction on the section from Calamba to Sto. Tomas, Batangas, as well as the expansion of some 20 bridges connecting the SLEX main carriageway, will be completed by July 2025, Ang said.

“This December, as our countrymen prepare to celebrate Christmas and travel more to spend time with friends and family, they can look forward to a wider, better SLEX. This will help in significantly reducing traffic buildup during the Holiday rush,” Ang said.

“The SLEX expansion is a major undertaking that entailed significant effort and investment, and a lot of patience and cooperation from motorists and stakeholders. We are very glad that motorists can soon enjoy faster trips to and from Southern Luzon,” he added.

Ang said that ensuring that SLEX is fully operational throughout the construction period has been a consistent priority of the company.

“Our contractors and project teams continue to do everything they can to minimize impact on vehicle traffic,” Ang said. “We want to assure our motorists that we will continue to work as efficiently as possible, and minimize disruptions to their travel as we complete the expansion.”

As the main expressway connecting Metro Manila to the CALABARZON region and beyond, SLEX serves an integral role in economic development in region.

The SLEX expansion program is seen to support the growth of Region 4A, which accounts for about 15 percent of the country’s total Gross Domestic Product.

The company has also fully-decommissioned the Calamba Main Toll Plaza, which used to be the terminus of SLEX, as well as the SLEX Greenfield Toll Plaza, the terminus of the SLEX-Toll Road 3 project that connected Calamba to Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

Structures have been dismantled, and the roads will be paved once the expansion work proceeds in that area.

In addition to the expansion of the entire carriageway, toll plazas at SLEX have been fitted with automatic license plate reading (ALPR) cameras as part of SMC Infrastructure’s efforts to comply with government mandates on barrier-less expressways.

With the help of ALPR cameras, the company said it was able to lift barriers at toll entry plazas across SLEX, to reduce the need for motorists to slow down or fully stop while passing through.

This slowdown increases the likelihood of traffic build-ups, which sometimes extend to public roads that are interconnected with SLEX.