Regulator OK’s start of SLEx rehabilitation

REPORT FROM BUSINESSWORLD The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has approved the issuance of the notice to proceed with the rehabilitation of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), marking the start of the main work on the P8.3-billion project. A TRB source said yesterday that the regulator is just waiting for the representatives of MTD Capital, the Malaysian builder, and the appointed independent consultant BCEOM French Engineers to affix their signatures on the notice. Prior to the release of the notice, MTD Capital, through South Luzon Tollway Corporation (SLTC), began last July 1 the flood-control works in the Alaska Milk area in San Pedro, Laguna, located between the Susanna Heights and Southwoods exits. SLTC President Mark Dumol said in a statement that his firm prioritized the road work on the flood-prone area because floods this rainy season might affect not only SLEx road users but also the whole construction schedule. That one-kilometer stretch can become impassable for vehicles due to waist-high water during heavy rains. "The work entails filling up the low area where water collects in order to raise the roadway above the flood level, and installing a 3-barrel reinforced concrete box culvert under the new pavement to keep the roadway drained throughout the rainy season," he explained. Work in this area is expected to last up to four months. "We assure motorists that work will begin in the highway median and will initially have minimal effect on traffic flow on either side of the expressway," he said. Mr. Dumol said major road work on traffic lanes will not begin until August, adding that all lanes will be kept open at all times during construction and motorists will be notified before each phase of the road work begins. The three-year SLEx rehabilitation and upgrading project consists of three phases. TR (Toll Road) 1 involves the repair and rehabilitation of the 1.2-kilometer Alabang viaduct to improve its capacity and structural integrity. Two new lanes will be added to the existing six. The second phase involves the TR2A component, which will rehabilitate the 15-kilometer expressway from Filinvest to Sta. Rosa in Laguna and widen to eight lanes the existing six-lane toll road; and TR2B which involves the rehabilitation and widening of the existing 12-kilometer expressway from Sta. Rosa to Calamba from the existing four lanes to a six-lane expressway. The TR3 phase is a new 7.6- kilometer, four-lane expressway from Calamba to Sto. Tomas in Batangas. This will also link SLEx to the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road which now leads to Lipa City and is being extended to Batangas City. -- M. E. Estavillo/BusinessWorld