8.9km Cebu-Cordova expressway inaugurated

• 8.9km Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway inaugurated

• President Rodrigo Duterte led inauguration rites for the P30-billion Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, which connects mainland Cebu in Cebu City to Mactan Island through the municipality of Cordova

• The P33-billion unsolicited project has a design speed of 60 to 80 kms per hour and a navigational clearance (height) of 52 meters to allow large vessels to pass underneath the bridge

• It is expected to serve around 50,000 vehicles daily

• CCLEX will use an all-electronic toll collection system but cash payments will be accepted in the meantime

President Rodrigo Duterte on April 27 led the inauguration of the 8.9-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), which connects mainland Cebu in Cebu City to Mactan Island through the municipality of Cordova.

CCLEX links Cebu City from South Road Properties to Barangay Pilipog of Cordova Municipality in Mactan Island, according to Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) and builder of CCLEX.

MPTC chairman Manuel Pangilinan said Cebu has started to reap the benefits of the project, which was built at a cost of at least P33 billion.

“We are happy to have been involved in building this piece of magnificent infrastructure for our countrymen in Cebu,” Pangilinan said in a statement. “It will bring in more investments, stimulate trade and commerce, revitalize tourism, and give a collective sense of pride among its people.”

Work on CCLEX started on July 5, 2018, with ceremonies marking the beginning of civil works. The unsolicited project, a joint venture agreement with the local governments of Cebu City and Cordova Municipality, is MPTC’s first toll road project outside Luzon.

CCLEX has a design speed of 60 to 80 kilometers per hour and a navigational clearance or height of 52 meters to allow large vessels to pass underneath the bridge. It is also expected to serve around 50,000 vehicles daily.

The expressway, which has two lanes in each direction, connects from Cebu City through the Cebu South Coastal Road on and off ramps. It connects to the twin pylon cable-stayed main bridge spanning the navigation path of Mactan Channel, then to a viaduct that brings the bridge to the level of the causeway leading to Barangay Pilipog in Cordova and to an at-grade road connecting to Mactan Circumferential Road.

CCLEX will use an all-electronic toll collection system, CCLEC said in a statement on its website. CCLEC president Allan Alfon encouraged motorists in Cebu to have their vehicles installed with the RFID stickers that are needed to use the expressway. Cash payments will be accepted in the meantime. The full electronic toll collection will be implemented by June 2022.

CCLEC earlier also announced that motorcycles with engine displacement below 400cc will be allowed to pass the expressway by July this year. This move is supported by a resolution passed by the CCLEX Bridge Management Board. Sidewalk for pedestrians and bikers will also be opened in July 2022.

READ: Metro Pacific arm gets P19B loan for construction of Cebu expressway

The study cited key benefits to include reduced travel time. “Even with a toll fee, motorists are seen to benefit in terms of time saved,” the study said.

The study also said that CCLEX will decongest Cebu City and Mandaue City and have “positive implications in the movement of products from the various factories in these cities.

It will also boost Cebu’s economic growth.

“The CCLEX will be a catalyst to bring about socio-economic development in their municipality as they would already be accessible without having to pass through Lapu-lapu City and Mandaue City. In fact, land values in their municipality have already started to increase. An updated land use plan has already been approved,” the study said.

Another key benefit of the CCLEX, according to the study, is its direct link to southern Cebu and its many tourist destinations.