Photo credit: The Department of Public Works and Highways
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is inching closer to delivering the entire 30-kilometer Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) Project which is 96 percent overall complete to date.
In his report to Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan, DPWH Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations Emil K. Sadain said that the first 18 kilometers of CLLEX from Tarlac Interchange at the connection of Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) in Balingcanaway, Tarlac City to Guimba-Aliaga Road in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija will be extended with additional 11 kilometers by March 2023 to include seven (7) kilometers up to San Juan Interchange and four (4) kilometers to Umangan-Julo Road at the boundary of Aliaga and Cabanatuan City before Felipe Vergara Road and Daang Maharlika Highway.
Undersecretary Sadain with DPWH UPMO-Roads Management Cluster 1 Project Director Benjamin A. Bautista inspected on Friday, July 22, 2022 the continuing works for the construction of four (4) lane expressway including interchanges, overpasses and underpasses from Aliaga Section to Cabanatuan Section whose progress were stalled in the past due to unworkable portions with problem in the acquisition of road right of way.
CLLEX is part of the Luzon Spine Expressway Network which is aimed at reducing travel time from the northernmost part of Luzon, Ilocos, to the southernmost part, Bicol.
Other than cutting travel time between Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, the partial opening in 2021 of CLLEX provided options to motorists and spread out traffic better resulting to reduce transportion costs, benefitting farmers of Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley Regions.
“The CLLEX Project will support the country’s new vision for improving agricultural productivity under the administration of President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. Using this toll-free high standard highway, palay crops and other products from Nueva Ecija - the Philippines’ rice granary, including those coming from Region 2 can reach the market centers in Metro Manila much faster and cheaper”, added Undersecretary Sadain.
Essentially an extension of the SCTEX and TPLEX, CLLEX will form an important east-west link for the expressway network of Luzon to ensure a continuous seamless traffic flow for the motoring public from Metro Manila and vice versa passing thru North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), SCTEX, and TPLEX.
Once fully operational, the ₱11.811-Billion expressway is expected to shorten the usual travel time of 70 minutes between Tarlac City and Cabanatuan City to just 20 minutes.
With funding assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the expressway will also facilitate better access to economic hub and areas of employment in Region 3 such as Clark and Subic.
Article courtesy of The Department of Public Works and Highways
