The Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX), formerly referred to as the Subic–Tipo Expressway and North Luzon Expressway Segment 7 (NLEX Segment 7), is a four-lane expressway that connects the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway to the

Subic Freeport Zone The Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, often shorterned as Subic Bay or Subic, is a special economic zone and List of free ports, freeport area covering portions of the city of Olongapo and the town of Subic, Zambales, Subic in Zambales, ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Its alignment traverses the provinces of

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

and

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

. The expressway forms part of Expressway 4 (E4) of the Philippine expressway network.

Route description

Beginning at the intersection of Rizal and Maritan Highways, the expressway runs northward traversing the wetlands of the former Naval Exchange going towards Argonaut Highway. The alignment curves to the right as it crosses Argonaut Highway and goes up as it enters the Bataan National Park. The alignment then veers on a southeasterly direction traversing the side slopes of the mountain. The road enters

as it exits the national park and there are two

Total Total may refer to: Mathematics * Total, the summation of a set of numbers * Total order, a partial order without incomparable pairs * Total relation, which may also mean ** connected relation (a binary relation in which any two elements are comp ...

service areas, with one before the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) security checkpoint for southbound lanes and near the checkpoint for northbound lanes. It would then curve westward, eastward, pass into one river, and repeats the same direction as before. There is an overpass after passing the bridge and before entering Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). Upon entering SCTEX, there is a toll plaza and the road forks into two, the left towards

Jose Abad Santos Avenue Jose Abad Santos Avenue (JASA), also known as the Olongapo–Gapan Road and the Gapan–San Fernando–Olongapo Road, is a two-to-thirteen-lane major highway spanning the provinces of Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Zambales in Central Luzon, ...

(Olongapo–Gapan Road) and the right is a toll plaza leading to SCTEX.

Expansion

As part of NLEX Corporation's expansion and improvement of its toll roads, the expressway was expanded to accommodate an additional carriageway inclusive of two bridges and a tunnel parallel to the existing ones. Groundbreaking ceremony of the expansion project was held on September 12, 2019. It was expected to be completed in September 2020, but was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The new carriageway and expansion was opened to traffic on February 19, 2021.

Toll

Subic Freport Expressway (SFEX) employs a

barrier toll system A barrier toll system (also known as an open toll system) is a method of collecting tolls on highways using toll barriers at regularly spaced intervals on the toll road's mainline. Motorists are typically charged a flat-rate toll, unlike toll roa ...

, where motorists that use exclusively this expressway pay a fixed toll rate. The toll collection is done at the SFEX Toll Plaza in Tipo. Meanwhile, motorists that originate from SCTEX are charged of toll rates based on the number of kilometers travelled from their entry point at SCTEX or NLEX upon entry on SFEX at Tipo Interchange. Tickets, meanwhile, are issued to eastbound vehicles from SFEX upon entry on SCTEX at Tipo Interchange and are charged at their respective exit points at SCTEX or NLEX. This is since SCTEX and NLEX are an integrated closed system since 2016. The electronic toll collection (ETC) system on the expressway uses devices branded ''Easytrip'' by its concessionaire,

NLEX Corporation NLEX Corporation (formerly Manila North Tollways Corporation) is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), a company owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (). It holds the concession rights to construct, operate and m ...

, and collection are done on mixed lanes at the toll barriers. Tolls are charged based on class. In accordance with law, all toll rates include a 12% value-added tax. Source
Toll Regulatory Board

Exits

Tipo, Bataan, Philippines - panoramio (2)

References

External link