NLEX keeps express lanes as traffic surges for the Christmas rush

FILE PHOTO: Motorists queue at the toll gates of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) on Thursday, May 9, 2024. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

BOCAUE, BULACAN—The North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) Corp. will continue to put up express lanes or counterflow lanes along the expressway’s choke points to accommodate commuters heading to the provinces for the holidays.

The regular daily 451,961 volume of vehicles along NLEx, Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) and the NLEx Connector has risen to at 474,558, as volume rose by 5 percent.

NLEx Corp., in a statement on Thursday, said the express lane will be accessible to Class 1 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-only vehicles, with northbound operations on Fridays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. (entry at Balintawak Expansion Plaza) and southbound operations on Sundays from 2 p.m. and early Mondays from 5 a.m. (entry at Bocaue Expansion Plaza).

Bottlenecks

Heavy bottlenecks usually occur on Friday along the northbound lane starting in Balintawak as motorists traverse toward North and Central Luzon. But as they head back to Metro Manila, they start to pile up in the southbound lane of the Bocaue toll plaza.

NLEx Corp. also announced the suspension of all roadworks and lane closures from 6 a.m. on Dec. 19, until 12 noon on Jan. 5, 2026, except for emergency safety repairs.

The company will also field in additional traffic, toll and emergency and medical response teams, and all lanes in major toll plazas will remain open to accommodate peak traffic.

The Manny V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) also offers toll free services for motorists during select hours over the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Motorists can enjoy free toll passages on NLEx, SCTEx, NLEx Connector, Cavite Expressway (Cavitex), and Cavite Calamba Expressway (Calax) during the festive hours: Dec. 24 from 10 p.m. to Dec. 25 at 6 a.m.; and Dec. 31 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. of Jan. 1, 2026 .

Motorists are encouraged to ensure their RFID accounts are active and sufficiently loaded prior to their travels. Cash-paying customers are advised to shift to RFID for faster transactions.