Candaba Viaduct temporarily closed to motorists as LPG tanker catches fire

A segment of the Candaba Viaduct was temporarily closed to motorists Easter Sunday afternoon as a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker caught fire past 3 p.m.

According to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), 200 meters of both the northbound and southbound lanes from the Candaba Viaduct were closed and vehicles were diverted to the MacArthur Highway.

The area was eventually opened to traffic with all lanes passable as of 4:25 p.m. after the fire was put out, as reported on GMA Super Radyo DZBB.

FOLLOW-UP REPORT: Candaba Viaduct (SB) now open. All lanes passable, as of 4:25 p.m. | via @NLEXexpressways pic.twitter.com/IJfwtLqoFI

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) April 9, 2023

The NLEX estimated that some 400,000 motorists passed through the expressway this Holy Week which had a five-day weekend.

Malacañang earlier announced April 6 (Maundy Thursday) and April 7 (Good Friday) were regular holidays and the Araw ng Kagitingan was moved to April 10, making it a non-working holiday.

The operator said it has started to implement contingencies as queues have started forming as of Sunday evening.

“Dun sa aming Tarlac Toll Plaza, mayroon nang pagpila doon na around 1 kilometer, pero ang ginagawa lang po natin dun sa entry na ‘yun galing norte, nagbabarrier up lang tayo,” NLEX Corp. Traffic Operations Head Robin Ignacio said in a report by Jamie Santos on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

(A kilometer-long queue formed at our Tarlac Toll Plaza, but we put up barriers at the northern entry.)

NLEX Corp. said it had also added cash lanes and cash collection points, given the higher number of motorists due to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the absence of RFIDs used to pay for toll fees.

The operator said some 30% or 100,000 of the vehicles plying NLEX and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) have yet to avail of the RFIDs. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA Integrated News