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MANILA - The operator of North Luzon Expressway said it will put up early warning systems as well as conduct a geohazard study to mitigate flooding on the toll road.
Parts of NLEX were submerged in floodwater amid heavy monsoon rains Tuesday last week, leaving motorists stranded for hours.
"Things that we're going to embark on, number one, is that we will install early warning devices to warn us of impending water coming inside. Second, is that we're now mulling on doing a geohazard study that will determine for us medium- and long-term solutions to the flooding," said Ramoncito Fernandez, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and chief executive.
Closely coordinating with government agencies in Metro Manila is also crucial, as areas surrounding Balintawak Interchange - the gateway to EDSA from NLEX - are flood-prone, he said.
"Part of the big problem was Balintawak. It has been affected very much by the floods coming from Caloocan, and the water could not go out at the back of the Balintawak cloverleaf market because of [floods in] Navotas and Malabon. So we will definitely continue coordination with MMDA and the Quezon City government on how to solve that Balintawak Interchange problem," Fernandez said, referring to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
He said the "most critical period" last Tuesday was between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., adding that both the northbound and southbound lanes of NLEX were accessible by 3:30 p.m.
"Some of our NLEX personnel were on duty beyond 24 hours to give service to our motorists. In fact, by noon of Tuesday, some of them were already delivering biscuits and water to our stranded motorists," Fernandez said.
Toll collection systems were not damaged by last week's floods, unlike during the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy almost three years ago when the Bocaue toll plaza was inundated by water, he said.
Fernandez said four parts of the expressway have been identified as flood-prone, namely Valenzuela, Meycauayan, Burol, and Marilao.
These areas are near rivers where water released from dams flows when there are torrential downpours, Fernandez said.
The Valenzuela Interchange could be flooded by the releases of La Mesa Dam that flow to Tullahan River. Water released from the Angat and Ipo dams, meanwhile, goes to Marilao and Meycauayan rivers, and could spill to the interchanges of Burol, Marilao and Meycauayan.
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