Despite Right of Way (ROW) problems, the opening of the CALAX Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange is "feasible" by first quarter of 2023, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) confirmed.
"We're affected by ROW issues at the Trial Courts, especially at Silang," director of DPWH Public-Private Partnership Service Alex Bote acknowledged. "But there's a meeting at the site with the Local Government Unit (LGU) that will assist us to settle it," said Bote.
The Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange is the fifth of the eighth segments of the 45-km Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX).
It’s a 3.9-kilometer (km), 2x2 lane expressway from Silang East Interchange to Aguinaldo Highway in Cavite. To date, operator MPCALA Holdings Inc. (MHI) has finished 64 percent of Calax Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange subsection of the CALAX project.
However, MHI has moved the target date for opening the subsection several times, the latest being this December.
A critical portion for the completion of the interchange consists of an undelivered ROW of 450 meters of land, the property of a private corporation.
Already, Silang, Cavite Mayor Kevin Anarna announced he is willing to help MHI to resolve the ROW issues to hasten the completion of the CALAX.
Despite the ROW problems, Bote is optimistic that the CALAX will be completed by the first quarter next year.
"Still, the target of completion up to Aguinaldo is feasible by first quarter next year," he reiterated.
The CALAX Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange will alleviate traffic in the area, which currently averages 33,000 vehicles per day, from Mamplasan to Silang East interchange. The Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange can increase this capacity to 40,000 vehicles daily.
Right now, CALAX’s operational segment spans 14.24-kilometer with interchanges at Greenfield-Mamplasan, Laguna Technopark, Laguna Boulevard, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay, and Silang East.
MHI expects the other CALAX interchanges - Open Canal, Governor’s Drive and Kawit, to be completed next year.
Next, the CALAX will connect to the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) in Kawit, Cavite.