TARLAC CITY—Motorists welcome the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) no toll fee collection that started 12:00 noon on Monday in the northbound lanes of Balintawak toll plaza and other northbound entries in Caloocan City and Valenzuela City until Meycauayan to offset their gasoline expenses due to 3-4 hours traffic.
All northbound motorists in the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) will no longer be collected of toll fees from their Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or need to pay cash toll fees as they enter the Balintawak and other northbound toll plazas as NLEX Corp. started its temporary toll relief from Balintawak to Meycauayan.
Gladys Sta. Rita, a government executive in Manila but who comes home daily in her house in Marilao town expressed satisfaction on the gesture of NLEX Corp.
“That’s a very considerate and commendable move from NLEX management. Temporarily suspending toll fees in those northbound plazas shows responsiveness to the inconvenience caused by the Marilao Interchange Bridge repair. It not only eases the financial burden on motorists but also demonstrates a sense of accountability and public service. This kind of gesture, though temporary, builds goodwill and shows that infrastructure providers can act with empathy, especially during disruptions. Hopefully, the repair finishes on time—or even earlier,” she told NEWSCORE on Monday.
Hermie Mendoza, a teacher from Angat town who teaches in Marilao and regularly takes the MacArthur highway said they are also affected by the traffic because trucks now divert their routes on MacArthur highway.
She said the toll-break is still a big help, although the gasoline expenses incurred from the traffic is way bigger.
Tarlac Gov. Susan Yap in an interview with NEWSCIRE on Monday said traffic in NLEX seems to be not that bad. She said she has family and friends who attended a gathering in Metro Manila on Sunday and it only took them 2 and a half hours to travel back home in this city.
“With only two and a half hour travel time back home here, it is not that bad,” she said.
Benjamin Antonio III, president of Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce and Industry thanked Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Vince Dizon for ordering NLEX to implement a relief in the toll fees.
Antonio said NLEX should strictly implement it’s 4.2 meters vertical clearance policy to prevent the entry of non-compliant vehicles to avoid another incident in the future.
According to Atty. Julius Victor Degala from City of Malolos, the temporary no toll fee collection is a “very good move to help alleviate the sufferings of the motorists adversely affected by heavy traffic congestion in NLEX because of its lane closures”.
P79.00 worth waived toll fee
In a statement released on Sunday evening, NLEX Corp said the P79.00 toll relief will be for all northbound motorists that would enter Balintawak, Karuhatan, Paso de Blas and Lawang Bato in Valenzuela until Meycauayan or under the open system toll fee collection.
NLEX Corp. said the congestion because of the closed two lanes in the Marilao Interchange Bridge area comes after Meycauayan section.
The relief is In response to the call of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), NLEX Corporation to implement a temporary relief in the toll fees.
The temporary no payment of tolls will remain in effect until all four lanes of the Marilao northbound area are reopened.
NLEX Corp. said in one of its latest advisory on Saturday that it aims to complete the repair of the Marilao Interchange Bridge by the end of the month to ease the traffic congestion particularly in time for the expected influx of motorists during the Holy Week.
The bridge sustained severe damages after a 4.9 meter truck traversed the northbound lane of the NLEX and hit the bridge. The expressway implements a 4.2 vertical clearance allowance for huge vehicles.
The two inner lanes of the expressway since then were closed for the safety of all motorists. The following day, NLEX Corp. began the repair of the structure.
The truck driver, identified as Joel Belila was arrested and charged with reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property.
We ask for the motoring public’s patience and understanding as we fast-track repairs and work to restore normal traffic flow as soon as possible,” NLEX Corp. also said in its statement.
