BCDA to open new interchange at Subic-Clark-Tarlac tollway

SUBIC FREE PORT -- The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) will open the Floridablanca interchange of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) today.

At 94 kilometers, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is the country’s longest tollway.

The state agency said this will be the eleventh interchange of the tollway, making it more accessible to motorists in Central Luzon.

In a statement, Robert C. Gervacio, BCDA program manager for operational support services and SCTEx spokesman, said the opening of the interchange would provide Floridablanca, the second-largest rice-producing town of Pampanga that is also noted for its sugar farms, with a more efficient way of transporting produce through the new interchange.

Motorists, meanwhile, will now have the option of passing through the traffic-free SCTEx instead of the old Porac-Floridablanca-Dinalupihan local road.

“Even residents of Angeles and Mabalacat should find the new interchange highly convenient,” Mr. Gervacio said.

The opening of the interchange is expected to further boost business growth and employment opportunities in the Central Luzon logistics hub, he added. Access to and from Floridablanca and its neighbo-ring municipalities, will now be faster and easier, he pointed out.

To prepare for the interchange’s opening and ensure that traffic will run smoothly, system tests with the assigned tellers were conducted, the SCTEx spokesman added.

Floridablanca, which is Spanish for “white flower,” also hosts the Basa Air Base of the Philippine Air Force.

The town is thickly populated and, thus, easing the movement of people and produce though the new interchange should be considered a boon for the locals, Mr. Gervacio said.

The Floridablanca interchange is a 96-hectare tollway facility located a little more than 33 kilometers from Subic’s Tipo Junction.

The state-owned SCTEx is a 94-kilometer tollway built to interconnect the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga, and Central Technopark in Tarlac.

It is the longest expressway in the country with 11 interchanges, four major bridges, 29 minor bridges, 44 underpasses and 303 drainage culverts. -- R. Garcia