The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Philippines

On September 24th, I took the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) to the Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEx) en route to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila in order to drop my wife off for her flight on Philippine Airlines.

As you can see if you click to enlarge the image, it starts at the Tipo Junction on SBMA (Subic Bay Management Authority, more properly titled Subic Bay Freeport Zone) and heads northeast to the Clark Economic Zone. The length of that stretch is about 50 kilometers (about 31 miles). The speed limit on the expressway is 100 kph (about 62 mph), so it only takes about a half hour to traverse.

As of now, we have to travel northeast on SCTEx, then southeast on the spur road to connect to NLEx, which heads south to Manila. It appears there will be a spur road completed from the Dinalupihan interchange to NLEx, which would trim 100 kilometers from the trip.

SCTEx versus the National Highway

The National Highway runs along the coast and through central Luzon and it passes through almost every little town you can think of. From the coast to Olongapo City, it's National Highway. While it runs through the city, it's Rizal Avenue. It turns back into National Highway when it leaves, en route to the Pampanga and Bataan provinces.

The route from Olongapo City to San Fernando, Pampanga takes from an hour to an hour and a half depending on what time of day it is and how many jeepneys, tricycles and humans are in our path. San Fernando is where we used to get onto NLEx at. The SCTEx route has us taking the Clark Logistics exit, a spur road which goes past Dau and onto NLEx. That stretch of NLEx also bypasses San Fernando.

The 30 minute drive along SCTEx is like a dream come true compared to the National Highway. There are no obstacles to contend with and it doesn't seem like the Philippine demolition derby every time we travel on it.

Pictures?

My driver, my bilas (Tagalog for sister-in-law's husband, which is a brother-in-law in English) wouldn't slow down enough for me to get a decent shot until it was too late. It started raining. I managed to squeeze off a shot of the toll gate area as I entered and the area approaching the Clark Economic Zone (and the nasty weather), but that was it:

If it's any consolation, here's a picture I snapped just before we left, looking out the back window of the spare bedroom:

Click to enlarge any image on this page.

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