An extension of an interlink expressway project in Central Luzon that connects Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) in Tarlac will be operational in the first half of 2023, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
In his report to DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan, Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain said that the DPWH Unified Project Management Office - Roads Management Cluster 1 (DPWH-UPMO RMC 1) has been working on the completion of an additional seven-kilometer segment of the Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX).
Sadain said the interlink would be operational from the Guimba-Aliaga Road intersection to the San Juan Interchange that will extend to 25 kilometers the already accessible 18-kilometer section of the superhighway.
“The DPWH-UPMO RMC 1 team, with the contractors and consultants, have worked hard to overcome challenges along the way, such as bad weather, right of way issues, difficulty in the transport of construction materials, and Covid-19 impact that caused some delays,” said Sadain.
In his inspection of the infrastructure project last Monday, Dec. 19, Sadain said the project contractors have been sending more resources to accelerate the project works.
The 30-kilometer CLLEX project has a four-lane two-way superhighway with a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
Apart from this, the DPWH was also undertaking the construction of three interchanges namely Zaragoza, Aliaga, and San Juan that will allow motorists from the secondary and provincial roads to access CLLEX.
When fully completed, the 30-kilometer CLLEX Project will facilitate a "fast, safe, comfortable, and reliable superhighway" in Central Luzon as it forms an east-west link for the expressway network in Region 3, Sadain said.
The superhighway aims to ensure a seamless traffic flow for the motoring public from Metro Manila and vice versa, passing thru NLEX, SCTEX and TPLEX, the DPWH official added.
Sadain underscored the project as one of the big-ticket infrastructure programs of the DPWH with funding assistance from the Government of Japan thru the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“This project is part of the government’s vision of easing traffic congestion and will shorten the usual travel time of 70 minutes between Tarlac City and Cabanatuan City to just 20 minutes,” he said.