By Llanesca T Panti
Traffic gridlocks in Metro Manila are expected to worsen next week with the opening of the 24-hour last mile truck routes on Monday.
Under the plan approved during a Cabinet meeting last week, trucks that have been given tags by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board will be allowed to use “last mile routes” on all hours of the day for the next two weeks.
These routes include lanes on Roxas Boulevard and Quirino Avenue for trucks going to the South Luzon Expressway
and A. Bonifacio Ave, for trucks bound for the North Luzon Expressway.
The last mile routes are considered express lanes that will allow trucks to deliver their cargo to their destinations without fear of being caught.
The Cabinet agreed to implement the scheme to clear the congestion in Manila ports.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino said trucks may also be seen along Aurora Boulevard, Sucat Road and Nagtahan even during truck ban hours.
Secretary Jose Rene Almendras earlier said the government decided to give some trucks all-day access to some routes to clear congestion in the Port of Manila.
“That’s only for the next two weeks. Rather than have our economy be affected adversely by this congestion, let’s solve the problem in this two-week period so that things can flow better from hereon. We are going to ask for the indulgence of the motoring public,” he said.
The last mile truck routes will be open from September 8-22.
Malacanang had appealed to motorists to bear with the expected heavy traffic.
On Friday, motorists going to NLEX endured horrendous traffic jams that stretched on for miles starting from Balintawak in Quezon City, and from Meycauayan to Quezon City, because of the huge number of cargo trucks going north.
The Palace said truckers were ordered to move their empty containers from Manila to Subic.
“That is what we are doing that is why many truckers are taking this time to really move out their empty containers and move them to Subic because there will be a fine imposed,” he said.
Malacanang yesterday apologised for the traffic gridlocks, saying the ports in Manila had to be cleared in preparation for the flood of shipments expected before Christmas.
“We recognise that the traffic should not impede business and productivity and so we are expecting to finish moving the empty containers this weekend because new charges will be implemented by September 8, if empty containers continue to occupy Port of Manila,” Lacierda said in a radio interview.
“We really need to decongest the Port of Manila and transfer the containers to Batangas or Subic because the presence of empty containers are already turning the port to a warehouse. We really need to do this because the imports are expected to rise for the Christmas season,” the Malacanang official added.
To solve the monstrous congestion at NLEX, Tolentino yesterday created a ‘Task Force Pantalan’ to speed up the flow of vehicles in the area.
In a press conference, the MMDA chief said the task force will work for two weeks up to September 21 and will be headed by National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) deputy regional director for operations Allen Bantolo and MMDA Traffic Discipline Office director Chris Saruca.
The task force will jointly monitor four critical areas—A. Bonifacio, C3, R10 and Del Pan Bridge.
