The Laguna Boulevard Interchange and the Laguna Technopark Interchange—part of the Laguna segment of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX)—are now open to motorists, announced the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Public Works Secretary Mark Villar in a statement said the community quarantine had affected the overall timeline of the project but “we have carefully navigated through this situation and we are ready to open these interchanges to the public at 12:01AM on August 18.”
About 10,000 cars per day are currently served by the Laguna segment of CALAX, and the two newly opened interchanges “are added catalysts for the much needed economic activity at all levels,” said Villar.
“It will allow the flow of output of goods and services that people utilize thereby spurring growth in the community and the region,” he continued.
The two newly opened interchanges provide motorists access to and from the Laguna Technopark and offer an alternative route to and from Nuvali via Laguna Boulevard and South Boulevard, thus decongesting Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road and other local service roads in the area, according to concessionaire MPCALA Holdings, Inc.
The two interchanges are “on full electronic mode” and use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease during transactions at toll booths, MPCALA president and general manager Bobby Bontia said.
By November, the whole of CALAX will be using RFID technology.
The 45-kilometer (km) CALAX is designed as a tolled four-lane expressway connecting Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) in Kawit, Cavite to South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) at their Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan.
CALAX will have interchanges in eight locations, namely, Kawit, Imus Open Canal, Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Blvd., and Technopark, with a toll barrier before SLEX.
The project has two segments: Laguna, a 10.7-km stretch between Mamplasan Entry and Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange; and Cavite that spans 35 km from Kawit, Cavite and traverses the Imus Open Canal, Governor’s Drive, Dasmariñas, Aguinaldo Highway and Silang.
The Laguna portion became fully operational last February, while the Cavite portion is eyed for completion by 2022.
