18 km of 30-km Central Luzon Link Expressway will open by July – DPWH

A stretch of the 30-km CLLEx. (Photo from the DPWH)

MANILA, Philippines — The first 18 km of the 30-km Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEx)—  which runs from  Tarlac City up to the intersection of Aliaga-Guimba Road in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija — will finally open by July after its initial opening date was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar expressed confidence that the Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) will be an efficient alternate route for the motoring public going to Nueva Ecija when it opens next month,” DPWH said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

“Despite work slowdown due to the pandemic, the first 18-kilometer segment of CLLEX will be of service to motorists from SCTEX/TPLEX connection in Tarlac City up to the intersection of Aliaga-Guimba Road  in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija this July 2021, declared Secretary Villar,” it added.

Last February, DPWH said that the particular section of the expressway that also connects the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) in Balingcanaway, Tarlac City would be open by May 15.

During Tuesday’s inspection, Villar said that contract packages 1 and 2 which covers Tarlac Section and Rio Chico River Bridge Section — which spans 10.5 kilometers — were already complete.

What is not yet finished is the 9.2-kilometer contract package 3, or the Aliaga Section, which is 87 percent finished.

“Secretary Villar together with Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations Emil K. Sadain and Region 3 Director Roseller Tolentino personally checked on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 the project’s progress which already has an overall accomplishment of 94 percent, making sure that the road is built with quality construction materials and specifications,” DPWH said.

“In his report to Secretary Villar, Undersecretary Sadain said that the delivery of right of way (ROW) requirements are being fast-tracked, with the assistance of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for expropriation complaints and other ROW-related cases,” the department added.

The P11.811 billion CLLEX — which is part of the Duterte administration’s ambitious infrastructure projects under the Build, Build, Build program — is seen to shorten travel time between Tarlac City and Nueva Ecija’s capital of Cabanatuan City from the usual 70 minutes to just 20 minutes.

Funding was secured through a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

READ: DPWH: ‘Toll-free expressway from Tarlac City to Aliaga, Nueva Ecija opens May 15

Other packages along the expressway are also being attended to, DPWH said.  So far, the 10.3-kilometer Package 4 is 88 percent complete.  This package includes the Cabanatuan Section.

On the other hand, the Zaragoza Interchange Section under Contract Package 5 is 26 percent complete.  Package 5 includes the construction of the 113-meter Zaragoza Interchange Bridge, a 4.88-km access road, two pre-stressed concrete deck girder bridges that are 19.4 meters long, five reinforced concrete box culverts, and seven irrigation canals.

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