LAGUNA – The San Miguel Corp. said it has made all the necessary preparations in anticipation of a huge volume of vehicles at all its expressways due to long vacations. “Our operations teams are prepared for the rush of our ‘kababayans’ eaving Metro Manila to spend the upcoming holidays with their loved ones in the provinces,” said SMC President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Ang. “We’ve made the necessary adjustments in our manpower deployment to ensure that traffic will flow smoothly along our carriageways and speed up the scanning of Auto Sweep tags and cards at exits,” added Ang. Among the expressways the SMC is operating include the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), the Skyway System, NAIA Expressway, and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX). On Monday, April 3, the SMC Infrastructure increased its manpower deployment at all tollways to ensure a faster and efficient service during the expected holiday exodus of Filipinos to their respective provinces for the traditional observance of the Holy Week. Mobile patrol units have been deployed at strategic locations, while more ambulant tellers will be positioned at major toll plazas to assist toll collection personnel and speed up the flow of vehicles heading out of Metro Manila to northern and southern provinces. “We encourage our motorists to make sure their Autosweep RFID accounts have sufficient load and to have their Autosweep cards ready in their vehicles, to avoid any delays,” said RSA. “Our ambulant tellers are also equipped to scan cards for faster transactions, in case there is heavy build-up at the exits,” added RSA. Ang said the company has suspended all roadworks and activities that might disrupt the flow of traffic at expressways, starting 12 p.m. of April 3 until 10 p.m. on April 10. The SMC’s top man said that SMC Infrastructure has also coordinated with authorities such as the police and the various local government units, on the implementation of traffic management plans. “To our motorists, we ask for your patience and understanding, as we all try to get to our destinations safely this Holy Week. Kindly anticipate heavy traffic and plan your trips well,” said Ang. “Also, please make sure your vehicles are in good condition and are road-worthy, as common problems we see at expressways – blown out tires and overheating engines – can also cause a significant amount of delay and inconvenience to other motorists,” Ang said. He asked motorists to always keep safety in mind when on the road. Apart from wearing seatbelts and maintaining a safe braking distance, motorists are reminded to also adhere to speed limits along expressways. SMC’s at-grade expressways have a maximum speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour (kph) for Class 1 vehicles and 80 kph for Classes 2 and 3 vehicles. Skyway Stage 3 and the NAIA Expressway have a maximum speed limit of 60 kph or safety reasons. In December last year, SMC Infrastructure implemented the Seamless Southern Tollways program which reduced the number of toll stops for motorists passing the South Luzon Expressway and STAR Tollway. The program has since proven successful at minimizing traffic buildup along the expressways as motorists no longer needed to stop at the Calamba Main Toll Plaza and SLEX Greenfield. “Before the Seamless program, traffic buildup at Calamba usually stretched five to seven kilometers. Now, it is gone,” stressed Ang. “We have no more traffic build-up at Calamba and SLEX Greenfield, and our existing toll plazas there are being dismantled.”