A 20-minute travel time from Tarlac City to Nueva Ecija will soon become a reality as more than half of the 30-kilometer Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) will be opened to traffic this coming May.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark A. Villar announced on Monday, Feb. 15, that the 18-kilometer portion of the entire CLLEX Phase 1 from Tarlac City to Nueva Ecija will be opened to public by May 15, 2021.
“Witihin the next 90 days, the 18-kilometer section from the connection of SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway) and TPLEX (Tarlac-Pangasinan-La UnionExpressway) in Balingcanaway, Tarlac City up to Aliaga Interchange of the Central Luzon Link Expressway Project Phase 1 will be substantially completed,” Villar said as he took the first drive test within the portion Monday.
The entire CLLEX Phase 1 is seen to reduce travel time between Tarlac City and Cabanatuan City from 70 minutes to just 20 minutes.
According to Undersecretary Emil Sadain, the 4.10-kilometer Tarlac Section and 6.40-kilometer Rio Chico River Bridge Section including the 1.5-kilometer Rio Chico Viaduct have already been completed while the 9.20-kilometer Aliaga Section and 10.30-kilometer Cabanatuan Section are 78.46 percent and 85.04 percent finished, respectively.
Villar said they are “seeing a quality infrastructure that will benefit around 11,200 motorists and commuters daily and ease traffic at Daang Maharlika Highway” once the entire expressway is finished.
“The P11.811-billion expressway project is part of the administration’s deliberate focus under the Build, Build, Build program on developing the provinces through connective infrastructure that will not only cut down travel time but also help farmers from the Philippines’ rice granary of Nueva Ecija in delivering their crops to markets of Central Luzon and Metro Manila,” Villar said.