The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to expand the P11.8 billion Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) project by the first quarter of 2023.
DPWH is closer to delivering the entire 30-kilometer CLLEX, now 96 percent complete. The first 18-km portion of the expressway started operation in July last year.
Emil Sadain, DPWH undersecretary, said in a statement the first 18-km CLLEX will be extended by 11 kms by March.
The 18-km segment from Tarlac Interchange of Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) in Balingcanaway, Tarlac City to Guimba-Aliaga Road in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija will be extended 7 kms up to San Juan Interchange and 4 kms to Umangan-Julo road at the boundary of Aliaga and Cabanatuan City before Felix Vergara road and Daang Maharlika Highway, Sadain said.
DPWH officials inspected last Friday the continuing works on the construction of the four -lane expressway including interchanges, overpasses and underpasses from Aliaga Section to Cabanatuan Section whose progress were stalled in the past due to unworkable portions caused by problems acquiring the road right of way.
CLLEX is part of the Luzon Spine Expressway Network which is aimed at reducing travel time from the northernmost part of Luzon, Ilocos to the southernmost part, Bicol.
Other than cutting travel time between Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, the partial opening in 2021 of CLLEX provided options to motorists and spread out traffic better, resulting to reduced transportation costs and benefitting farmers of Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley Regions.
Essentially an extension of the SCTEX and TPLEX, CLLEX will form an important east-west link for the expressway network of Luzon to ensure a continuous seamless traffic flow for the motoring public from Metro Manila and vice versa passing thru North Luzon Expressway, SCTEX, and TPLEX.
With funding assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the expressway will also facilitate better access to economic hub and areas of employment in Region 3 such as Clark and Subic.
