CALAX to open by end of October – Villar
Binan, Laguna — The first sections of the Cavite Laguna Expressway (CALAX) spanning Mamplasan Barrier onto Laguna Technopark Interchange, Laguna Boulevard Interchange, all the way to Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange is 90 per cent complete, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark A. Villar announced yesterday after doing a final inspection of the project.
“The remaining 10 percent are portions of the expressway that need to be harmonized, we are fast tracking those portions to ensure that CALAX will be passable and ready to serve motorists this October 30, in time for Undas,” he added.
“We will open the entry and exit points at Mamplasan, Binan Laguna and Sta-Rosa Tagaytay Road. Approximately 10,000 cars are expected to enter and exit through these two access points. This section will approximately be 10 minutes to drive. A big cut on travel time compared to the 45minutes it currently takes to travel Mamplasan to Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road,” Villar said.
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, he pointed out.
The inspection was conducted along with Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) subsidiary MP CALA Holdings, Inc. led by President and General Manager Bobby Bontia.
“We are in close coordination with the DPWH, together we align with the different stakeholders and update them of the developments in the construction, inform them of the features of the expressway and the benefits that CALAX will bring to the areas it will traverse. We jointly agreed to open and serve motorists who will travel this Semana Santa,” said Bontia.
CALAX is designed to be a Four-lane, tolled expressway that will connect CAVITEX in Kawit to South Luzon Expressway [SLEX] at their Mamplasan Interchange in Binan Laguna. CALAX will have interchanges in eight locations - Kawit, Imus Open Canal, Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Blvd., Technopark, and a Toll Barrier before SLEX.
It will also showcase technologically advanced features such as Automatic License Plate Recognition System enabling barrier-less entry to CALAX, IP Based Speed Detection Cameras strategically installed, and High Definition CCTV cameras to cover the entire stretch of the expressway to ensure safe and efficient travel by the motorists.
MPTC’s domestic portfolio includes the concessions of North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), the NLEX Connector Road, CAVITEX and CAVITEX C5 Link, and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) in Cebu.