Expansion of the 8.2-kilometer Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX) is 50% complete and expected to be completed by year-end, according to concessionaire NLEX Corporation.
Full-blast works on the P1.6-billion SFEX capacity expansion started September 2019 but were halted following the declaration of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the area. Construction resumed in mid-May after the lifting of ECQ.
The road is being transformed into a four-lane expressway with the construction of two additional expressway lanes, two new spans at the Jadjad and Argonaut bridges, and a new tunnel near the existing one.
Once finished, the project is seen to improve traffic flow and road safety, NLEX Corp. president and general manager J. Luigi L. Bautista said in a statement.
“By increasing the road capacity of SFEX, which traverses the provinces of Bataan and Zambales, transport of goods in and out of the Subic Freeport will be faster and easier. This would also mean that the expressway can accommodate more motorists at a given time,” he said.
New expressway-standard LED lights will be installed to make night driving safe.
The project scope includes raising elevation of the Maritan Highway-Rizal and Highway-Tipo Road Junction and enhancing the drainage system in the area to improve flood management.
The SFEX capacity expansion complements the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s infrastructure development program, which includes widening of Freeport roads and improvement of airport, seaport, and other logistics facilities in Subic.
