NLEX, MMDA Complete Flood-Defense Works in San Simon

MANILA, Philippines — The flood-defense works on the San Simon stretch of North Luzon Expressway in Pampanga have been completed with the help of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the NLEX Corp. said on Sunday. The works cover the following: NLEX noted that the MMDA sent equipment outside its home jurisdiction to Pampanga, with its crews working alongside NLEX teams to do the following: MMDA dump trucks hauled barrier sections, sandbags, and fill to the worksite, carrying out the work ahead of the southwest monsoon onslaught. The barrier line was reinforced rapidly when the rivers overflowed, a sequence documented in a timestamped photographic record through Aug. 31. READ: Light traffic at NLEx on Sunday morning “We are grateful to the MMDA for going beyond its own jurisdiction to stand with us here,” said Luis S. Reñon, NLEX Corp. president and general manager. “Their pumping units, their barriers, and their people were in the water with our teams, and that partnership is the reason this stretch is defended today. What the two agencies built together in a week, we intend to keep.” After the late-August flooding, NLEX rented additional heavy-duty pumps beyond its own fleet when it exceeded the capacity of company-owned equipment, impounded and lined the shoulders at San Simon and Tulaoc so that water would be held and channeled away from live lanes, and had response crews prepositioned at Meycauayan, Paso de Blas, San Fernando, and Balintawak. NLEX and MMDA now follow a written protocol assigning pumping responsibility, lane-closure authority, and public advisory duties. “The work on this stretch of the expressway continues,” Reñon said. “Equipment and personnel remain in place, and NLEX and the MMDA will keep reinforcing it through the season. Motorists can expect the road to be prepared before conditions change.” READ: LTFRB taking steps on NLEx traffic jam On Aug. 29, a dike gave way northeast of the San Simon interchange, and floodwater from the town crossed overland onto the carriageway, closing lanes between Pulilan and San Fernando and causing heavy traffic. San Simon has no prior record of flooding, and no waterway runs from the dike to the expressway. The arrangement between the MMDA and NLEX, assembled during the event, has since continued. “Motorists were stranded on that stretch, so we sent our pumps, our barriers and our personnel,” MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III said. “Our crews worked in the water beside NLEX’s, and the equipment stays for as long as this stretch needs it. We will keep working with NLEX to keep that road open and passable.” Longer-term measures for the stretch are under study, among them sheet piling along the exposed section, sustained high-capacity pumping, and deepening of the Tulaoc River to increase discharge capacity. For motorists, toll relief on the Pulilan–San Fernando stretch has been in effect since noon on Sept. 2. It will remain in place until all lanes are passable to all vehicle classes, with rebates of ₱113 for Class 1, ₱281 for Class 2, and ₱338 for Class 3 credited to RFID accounts the day after passage. Advisories will be issued through NLEX channels, roadside signage, and broadcast partners before any lane closure. /atm