Tuesday, March 17, 2009

sctex sights

The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) is a 94-kilometer four-lane expressway north of Manila, in the Philippines. Its southern terminus is at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales, it passes through the interchange with the North Luzon Expressway near the Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles City, and its northern terminus is at the Central Techno Park in Tarlac City, Tarlac.

Construction on the expressway began in April 2005, and opened to the public three years after. To date, it is the Philippines' longest toll expressway. (from wikipedia.org)

driving along sctex is such a breeze. no tricycles, speeding buses or lumbering trucks impede the progress of other vehicles, and definitely no bayans (something like city centers) to pass where traffic is denser. travel time to subic from manila is cut by about 30 minutes, depending on the speed of the car. as for the other exit ramps to the towns where sctex passes through, most are still under construction from the time we passed there.

for someone born and bred in the city like yours truly, sights such as in the pics below is a refreshing change of scenery. green fields and hills abound left and right; it seems like there's no end to them.

here are some shots that i took from the van.


rice fields. it's almost harvest time!


these particular hills can also be seen along olongapo-gapan road.



take a closer look



so many hills there are, that those who worked to construct this highway had to cut across some hills. reminds me of the freeways in california, only these are much greener.



more lush greenery

seemingly endless stretch of asphalt lined with green.






14 comments:

  1. i also like this expressway. there's a part where you get to see the beautiful mountainscape.

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  2. so it's called an expressway in there...

    dito kasi motorway....

    and i agree, refreshing nga sa mata.

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  3. such a beautiful sight. lagi ako daan jan almost every week at ang fave ko jan yung hinati na bundok. ganda talaga.

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  4. that used to be the road i took from tarlac to manila every week. it changed a lot, i miss the sight of verdant fields.

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  5. bilis no? have you seen my SCTEx map post? ang bilis din punta baguio...will feature negativism cemetery soon :P

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  6. hi, ate carlotta! the brilliant green in the 1st photo is just so very deeply beautiful! :D i miss sights like this.

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  7. How we wish all roads are like that all over the Philippines.

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  8. Interesting photos ate, and also the information.

    :D

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  9. ang pinaka gusto ko sa sctex yung sight ng hinating bundok LOL imagine that bongga diba

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  10. Pretty shots. Slowly but surely, development is coming to the Northern part of Luzon. I just hope that its operators will maintain the expressway well.

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  11. Beautiful scenery... and yes...that is a good road albeit a bit expensive ;-) !

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  12. very efficient road, and scenic view on the way! i like using this SCTEX

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