NLEx travel back to normal after floods and gridlock

Motorists taking the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) can expect smooth travel now that all three lanes in Tulaoc and near the San Simon Interchange have been flood-free since Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, according to the tollway’s operators. INQUIRER.net file photo / JONATHAN VICENTE PULILAN, Bulacan—Motorists taking the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) can expect smooth travel now that all three lanes in Tulaoc and near the San Simon Interchange have been flood-free since Tuesday, according to the tollway’s operators. This stretch of the freeway along Pampanga was nearly crippled by floods brought by weeks of monsoon rains and other weather disturbances, which caused an 8-hour gridlock on August 29. Floods, which were aggravated by clogged waterways that brought downcascading waters from Nueva Ecija, had to be siphoned off the expressway. READ: NLEx traffic eases, nears normal after 8-hour gridlock Article continues after this advertisement Travel has returned to a normal pace of 80-100 kph for nearly 351,000 NLEx motorists traversing Balintawak to Pampanga. The normalization of NLEx travel paved the way for the lifting of toll rebates that NLEx Corporation has been providing motorists who endured disrupted traffic flow along the San Fernando–Pulilan stretch. As of 12:01 p.m. on Wednesday, the rebate was terminated. It started on Sept. 2 upon the directives of the Department of Transportation, while flood conditions persisted. However, the temporary toll exemption for provincial buses will remain in effect. NLEx continues to undertake flood mitigation measures, including dredging the Tulaoc River and clearing and improvement works along the NLEX embankment, to ease water flow and help control flooding in the area./coa Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.