SMC commences installation of automatic license plate readers in SLEX

MANILA: Motorists can now pass through the toll plazas of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) following the installation of automatic license plate readers (ALPR).

In a statement, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) shared that several ALPR cameras have already put up — cutting down the need for barriers.

The company also noted that the said technology is also in line with the government’s directive to apply contactless toll collection and barrier-less plazas along expressways.

Designed to complement the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, the ALPR cameras can cross-reference the entry and exit of vehicles by reading and recording their license plates for accurate charging of their toll.

Further, SMC is also having upgrades on its servers to further improve their capacity to handle the growing number of vehicles.

To recall, the operator started the Seamless Southern Tollways project in 2022, which reduced the number of stops when traveling along the Skyway System, SLEX, and STAR (Southern Tagalog Arterial Road) Tollway.

The initiative also led to the decommissioning of the Calamba Main Toll Plaza (then end of SLEX) and Greenfield Toll Plaza (terminus of Toll Road 3 that connects SLEX to STAR Tollway at Santo Tomas, Batangas). The said toll plazas are scheduled to be demolished in line with the SLEX widening project.

As part of continuing efforts to future-proof the tollway, SMC is also set to complete by the end of the year the expansion of SLEX’ 36.1-kilometer main carriageway to six lanes each side.

Additionally, some 20 bridges along the SLEX carriageway are also being expanded to reduce traffic bottlenecks that result in vehicle buildup and slowdowns.

The expansion of the bridges is aligned with the new six-by-six lane configuration of the carriageway to accommodate increasing vehicle traffic in SLEX, which serves high growth provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon.

“SMC SLEX Incorporated understands the importance of SLEX in supporting the growth trajectory of the Calabarzon Region, which accounts for about 20 percent of the country's GDP,” the company said in a statement.

“Once the facility upgrades are completed, it will improve the quality of travel of the general motoring public, and result in faster movement of goods and services as well,” it added.

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