THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Tuesday it will open on Oct. 30 the first 7.4-kilometer (km) of the Laguna segment of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX).
“Oct. 30, before Undas (All Saints’ Day), we can expect this to be passable,” Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar told reporters, referring to the Subsections 6, 7, and 8 of the Laguna segment of the 45.3-kilometer CALAX project.
The entire length of CALAX project will connect the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEx) from Kawit, Cavite to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) at the Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.
The DPWH and the project’s concessionaire MPCALA Holdings, Inc. conducted a final inspection of the subsections of the Laguna segment Tuesday, which covered the Mamplasan Barrier onto Laguna Technopark Interchange, Laguna Boulevard Interchange all the way to Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange.
“The project is 90% completed. The remaining 10% are portions of the expressway that need to be harmonized. We are fast-tracking those portions,” Mr. Villar was quoted as saying a statement.
He added that the DPWH will ensure that CALAX “will be passable and ready to serve motorists this October 30, in time for Undas.”
“We will open the entry and exit points at Mamplasan, Biñan and the Sta-Rosa Tagaytay Road. It’s a long weekend and apart from paying respects to the dearly departed, I’m sure a lot of families would want to take advantage of this time to do some bonding in Tagaytay, Batangas and Manila,” he explained.
Mr. Villar said around 10,000 cars are expected to enter and exit through these subsections, which will take about 10 minutes to drive.
The DPWH said with the completion of these subsections, travel time will fall significantly from the 45 minutes it currently takes to travel from Mamplasan to the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road.
“In order to decongest Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road, Governor’s drive, Aguinaldo Highway, it is imperative to deliver the total 45-kilometer length of CALAX by June 2022. Once completed it will only take about 45 minutes to an hour to drive from Mamplasan to Kawit, Cavite and will serve about 50,000 vehicles.” Mr. Villar was also quoted as saying.
MPCALA Holdings is controlled by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of Hong-Kong based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.
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