00:00 A few days of traffic was blocked by motorists in the North Ozone Expressway in San Simon, Pampanga due to the flooding of the Pampanga River.
00:08 The NLEX's chief explained that their target is to raise the Tulaok-San Simon Segment Area.
00:13 But they can't do it because of the Tulaok Bridge above.
00:17 They are asking the DPWH and local governments to fix the waterways and drainage system in the area.
00:25 For now, they put a sandbag and water pump to drain the water.
00:30 Traffic and engineering teams are also monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of motorists.
00:36 Let's update on the traffic situation in the NLEX due to the flooding in the area.
00:42 Let's talk to NLEX-SCTX Traffic Senior Manager Robin Ignacio.
00:45 Good morning to you. Welcome to Balitang Halim.
00:49 Good morning sir. To our viewers and listeners of Balitang Halim.
00:55 How is the traffic flow in the NLEX, particularly in San Simon?
00:59 Is the flood still ongoing? This weekend, many are expecting to return to the North.
01:03 Yes sir. As of now, there is still flood under the Tulaok Overpass.
01:10 The traffic is still moving. We are around 10 kilometers from the Northbound and around 8 kilometers from the Southbound.
01:22 We started pumping out water yesterday.
01:30 But apparently, the water flow is still fast.
01:34 So we fortified our sandbagging and added more pumps.
01:40 We also have trucks, around 15 trucks, that we deployed to suction the water and dump it away from Tulaok.
01:53 Hopefully, we can lower the water level there so we can speed up the traffic flow.
01:59 Is the water level still high around the road you are pumping out? Because as high as the water level is, the water will continue to flow into the road.
02:08 Yes sir. It is still high. The water level around Tulaok area is almost unchanged.
02:19 That is our challenge. We want to minimize the water return to the carriageway.
02:28 So that when we pump, we can reduce the water level faster and lower the water level on the road so we can speed up the traffic flow.
02:40 So there is still water and traffic slowdown in the area where our motorists are expecting?
02:47 Yes sir. There is still a slowdown in the traffic flow in the area.
02:54 But we added more pumps and suction trucks to dump the water somewhere.
03:02 Hopefully, we can lower the water level so that when more people pass through, we can speed up the traffic flow.
03:12 What is the expected delay of our motorists who will pass through later in the afternoon if there is still water?
03:18 So they can expect that they will stay there for a long time.
03:22 Yes. Their total trip from San Fernando to Salsamon area will be around one and a half to two hours.
03:36 So if the water level is lower, we can lower it. Hopefully, this delay will be reduced.
03:44 Aside from sandbags and using water pumps, are there other ways to remove the water?
03:52 As of now, that is the only way we can see.
03:57 So our effort is to level up so that we can lower the water. As long as the water level is high in the adjacent area,
04:13 there is a tendency for water to enter. So we are increasing our pumping capacity so that we can reduce the water level faster than replacing it.
04:26 As you mentioned earlier, the longer term solution in this area is to clean the waterways and the riverbed if it is really flooding.
04:46 One of the major reasons why it is flooding is that there is a need to address this.
04:53 So an engineering intervention is really needed. Thank you very much and good luck in pumping out the water.
04:58 Thank you. Thank you and good afternoon.
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