Traffic at NLEX, SLEX may peak starting Holy Wednesday

Filipinos heading for the provinces for their Holy Week vacation may have to be extra patient starting Holy Wednesday, when exodus traffic along the North and South Luzon Expressways is expected to start peaking.

Data from GMA News Research showed that along NLEX, northbound traffic may start peaking from afternoon of Holy Wednesday to late morning of Maundy Thursday.

Filipinos are flocking to the provinces to spend the Holy Week with their families. They are expected to start returning to Metro Manila by Easter.

NLEX traffic

GMA News Research cited figures from the Tollways Management Corp. indicating traffic volume along NLEX could increase by 25,500 to 34,000 during the Holy Week exodus. The average daily traffic along NLEX is 170,000.

Traffic buildup at the northbound part of NLEX can be expected in these toll plazas:

• Balintawak
• Mindanao Avenue
• Bocaue
• Dau

On the other hand, southbound (Metro Manila-bound) traffic may become heavy starting in the afternoon of Black Saturday up to late evening of Easter Sunday.
 
Potential traffic chokepoints during this time include:

• Bocaue Barrier
• Dau toll plaza
• Mabalacat toll plaza

SLEX traffic

At the SLEX, meanwhile, traffic may start peaking Holy Wednesday with an expected 295,148 vehicles, GMA News Research said, citing data from the Manila Toll Expressways Systems Inc.

It said this traffic volume is about 10 to 15 percent compared to the same period last year.

The average daily traffic along SLEX is 240,000 vehicles.
 
Traffic buildup at the southbound part of SLEX going to Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas may be expected at:

• Susana Heights
• Carmona
• Sta. Rosa
• Eton
• Calamba
• Ayala Greenfields

Meanwhile, traffic heading for Metro Manila may peak Easter Sunday until early Monday. During this time, Metro Manila-bound traffic may be congested in:

• Ayala Greenfields
• Calamba Entry
• Carmona
• Filinvest
• Alabang

Traffic increase

GMA News Research, citing data from the Toll Regulatory Board, said traffic volume at the expressways may increase by 20 percent this Holy Week compared to last year.

In 2013, it said daily traffic volume at the expressways during Holy Week was eight to 20 percent higher than during Holy Week 2012.

The projected increase in traffic from 2012 to 2014 included:

• SLEX: 32 percent increase from 194,588 in 2012 to projected 256,853 in 2014
• NLEX: 29.51 percent increase from 189,704 in 2012 to projected 245,677 in 2014
• Skyway: 43.50 percent increase from 132,434 in 2012 to projected 190,042 in 2014
• MCTE (Cavitex): 34.71 percent increase from 84,279 in 2012 to a projected 113,536 in 2014
• SCTex: 34.13 percent increase from 32,511 in 2012 to projected 43,608 in 2014
• STAR: 32.98 percent increase from 28,215 in 2012 to projected 37,519 in 2014

—Joel Locsin/KG, GMA News