CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Business groups, led by the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (PamCham), unanimously approved on Wednesday the design for the portion of the busy highway near the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) exit here. PamCham officials said they approved the government design to address the worsening traffic affecting major businesses at the capital city.
The portion of the Jose Abad Santos Avenue, which hosts giant malls and a high-rise residential building, will have “signalized intersection” in consideration of the “lack of discipline” of motorists in the country, PamCham officials said.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Director Antonio Molano Jr. claims the signalized intersection, which prevailed over six other proposed designs, “is effective.” He added that such system solved the traffic problem in his hometown of Meycauayan, Bulacan.
The improvement of the roads and bridge in the area are part of the P3.5-billion expansion and improvement of the portion of the Nlex from Santa Rita to the city of San Fernando, Raul Ignacio of the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) said.
Ignacio, MNTC vice president for construction and engineering, said his employers are supportive of the proposed design and is exhausting all options to start the construction of the project “once it’s approved” by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).
Ignacio added that the Nlex exit here is one of the busiest among the firm’s exits with some 12,000 users daily.
Rep. Oscar Rodriguez of the Third District of Pampanga said during a meeting here that “businesses are very much affected by traffic and this must be addressed immediately and properly.”
“Road safety is paramount. We are leaving it to the experts for the best design of the intersection,”
Rodriguez said. He added that the design should be immediately chosen to ensure that the construction will start early next year and end before December 2016.
TRB Spokesman Julius Corpuz said at least eight months is needed for all the necessary procedures and study for the project. “But we will also try our best to finish the procedures faster,” he added.
The proposals were based on actual and recent studies anchored on the so-called 2020 Do Nothing with Development concept. That concept said traffic will get worse five years from now as developments continue propping up in this city and in other areas of Pampanga.