San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is set to open new lanes on the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) next month in a bid to decongest traffic in the area.
In a statement, SMC said it will open the new 6x6 lanes of SLEX in the third week of December. The expansion covers a 29-kilometer stretch from Susana Heights in Muntinlupa to Calamba, Laguna, adding two lanes in both directions.
Construction on the section from Calamba to Sto. Tomas, Batangas, and the expansion of some 20 bridges connecting to the SLEX main carriageway, will be completed by July 2025.
“This December, as our countrymen prepare to celebrate Christmas and travel more to spend time with friends and family, they can look forward to a wider, better SLEX," said SMC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Ang. "This will significantly reduce traffic buildup during the holiday rush.”
“The SLEX expansion is a major undertaking that entailed significant effort and investment, and a lot of patience and cooperation from motorists and stakeholders," he added. "We are very glad that motorists can soon enjoy faster trips to and from Southern Luzon.”
As the main expressway connecting Metro Manila to the CALABARZON region and beyond, SLEX plays an integral role in the region's economic development.
The SLEX expansion program is expected to support the growth of Region 4A, which accounts for about 15 percent of the country’s total Gross Domestic Product.
The company has also fully decommissioned the Calamba Main Toll Plaza, formerly the terminus of SLEX, and the SLEX Greenfield Toll Plaza, the terminus of the SLEX-Toll Road 3 project that connected Calamba to Sto. Tomas, Batangas. The structures have been dismantled, and the roads will be paved once expansion work proceeds in that area.
In addition to widening the carriageway, toll plazas at SLEX have been fitted with automatic license plate reading (ALPR) cameras as part of SMC Infra’s efforts to comply with government mandates on barrier-less expressways.
With the help of ALPR cameras, the company said it was able to lift barriers at toll entry plazas across SLEX, reducing the need for motorists to slow down or fully stop. Slowing down and stopping increases the likelihood of traffic buildups, which sometimes extend to public roads connected to SLEX.
In 2022, the company implemented the Seamless Southern Tollways project, which reduced the number of stops motorists had to make when traveling along the Skyway System, SLEX, and Star Tollway.