The local government of Silang, Cavite has urged the Department of Public Works and Highways and private landowners to address the right-of-way (ROW) issues of the 45-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) to speed up the completion of the project, which is crucial to its development and achievement of cityhood status by 2025.
“We are very willing to help MPCALA and the national government to fast track the opening of the Calax Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange. Right now, we are planning to set up a meeting with the owner of the land to discuss the right-of-way issues. Maybe, we can get a compromise agreement before the end of the year,” Silang Mayor Kevin Anarna said in a statement over the weekend.
To date, 64 percent of the Calax Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange subsection of the Calax project has been completed.
MPCALA Holdings Inc., operator of Calax, earlier said the target date of its opening has been moved several times, with the latest, set on December 2022, again uncertain.
One critical portion for the completion of the interchange is the undelivered ROW of about 450 meters of land which is owned by a private corporation.
The ROW issues prevent the progress of continuous works, including construction of drainage and bridge, excavation and roadway earthworks, and installation of fence and coco net.
The delay in the completion of the Calax subsection, Anarna said, hampered the development of inner roads of the municipality.
“Once the CALAX Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange is completed, we can now start the construction of inner roads so that we will be accessible to local tourists and investors who want to invest in Silang,” Anarna said.
Silang is the fifth of the eight segments of the 45-km expressway and spans 3.9 km with 2×2 lane expressway from Silang East Interchange to Aguinaldo Highway in Cavite. Upon completion, this will serve more motorists including the 298,000 Silangenos by reducing the traffic situation.
Current average daily traffic is 33,000 from Mamplasan to Silang Ease interchange. This is expected to increase to 40,000 when the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange finally opens, thus easing the usual bottleneck along the 41-km Aguinaldo Highway — the busiest main thoroughfare in Cavite — not to mention Governor’s Drive and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road.
Anarna said the completion of the Calax Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange is very important because the municipality is preparing for the upcoming two international horticulture events to be hosted by Silang in January and April next year.
At present, Calax’s operational segment spans 14.24 kilometers with interchanges at Greenfield-Mamplasan, Laguna Technopark, Laguna Boulevard, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay and Silang East.
The remaining three interchanges — Open Canal, Governor’s Drive and Kawit — are targeted to be completed by 2023.
