The P1.6-billion capacity expansion of the Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX), an 8.2-kilometer major infrastructure that will ease travel to and from the freeport zone, is 50 percent complete and will be finished by the end of 2020, NLEX Corporation yesterday (August 10) announced.
The SFEX, which traverses the provinces of Bataan and Zambales, will be transformed into a four-lane road.
NLEX Corp. is adding a couple of expressway lanes, two new spans at the Jadjad and Argonaut bridges plus a new tunnel adjacent to the existing one, to improve traffic flow and road safety.
“By increasing the road capacity of SFEX, transport of goods in and out of the Subic Freeport will be faster and easier," according to NLEX Corporation President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista.
"This would also mean that the expressway can accommodate more motorists at a given time.”
They are also installing new, expressway-standard, LED lights to make night driving equally enjoyable and safe.
Furthermore, "We raised the elevation of the Maritan Highway-Rizal and Highway-Tipo Road Junction and enhanced its drainage system to improve flood management in the area,” he added.
This was done in partnership with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
Full blast work on SFEX Capacity Expansion started last September, 2019 but halted after the area went under enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
Construction resumed in mid-May after government lifted the lockdown.
Despite the disruptions brought by the coronavirus pandemic, the SFEX Capacity Expansion is expected to sustain Subic’s position as a prime business and leisure hub.
It is also being eyed to complement SBMA’s infrastructure development program, which includes widening of Freeport roads and improvement of our airport, seaport, and other logistics facilities.