Every motorist and commuter who passes by the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) knows that heavy traffic is nothing new – or heavy flooding, for that matter.
But the downpour last week that flooded the Susana Heights Exit (near the New Bilibid overpass) stunned even regular motorists who use the toll road every day.
Now it can be told: there is a small (almost creek-size) river called the Magdaong River that passes through that area between the New Bilibid overpass and the Susana Heights exit, which skirts the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX).
But unlike that other creek situated near the Alaska Milk Factory in San Pedro City, Laguna which had earned a reputation for being “flood-prone,” motorists had never experienced flooding at the Susana Heights Exit, as far as my memory can tell.
Until the afternoon of August 25, when heavy monsoon rains caused a quagmire along that part – a quagmire that resulted in almost non-moving traffic that stretched for a few kilometers on both sides.
As of press time, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), which operates SLEX, has yet to release a statement on what exactly happened in that area or what caused it.
But some irate motorists are speculating that the road-widening project SMC has undertaken in the past months may have something to do with it.
Sounds far-fetched to me, as that part was already widened a few years ago – and we’re sure that SMC had ensured that the Magdaong River will continue to flow despite the extensive development around the river.
-o0o-
But here’s a thing I’d like to ask: will the additional lanes being constructed by SMC make a big difference in the traffic situation along the South?
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve been working from San Pedro City, and the times I’ve ventured to Metro Manila are now few and far between.
But from what I’ve heard from other motorists (check the Facebook page “SLEX Traffic” if you can), the new Skyway South Extension that was opened just a few years ago didn’t make any difference whatsoever.
And even if SLEX gets widened by four lanes, there’s the fact that car sales in the Philippines jumped by 11.8 percent from January to June 2024 - or the equivalent of 226,279 units, up from 202,415 units in the same period in 2023.
And given that the much-anticipated North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) won’t be completed for another three years or so, expect that the increase in vehicular traffic is sure to catch up on whatever road-widening schemes toll operators have implemented.
As the old meme goes, “Just one more lane, bro…”
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