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The Central Luzon Link Expressway connecting Tarlac City and Cabanatuan City is 96% done
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The first 18 kilometers will be extended by 11 km by March 2023
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Once fully operational, the P11.811-billion expressway will cut the usual travel time of 70 minutes between the two cities to just 20 minutes
The 30-km Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) Project, which connects the provinces of Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, is now 96% complete, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The first 18 km of CLLEX from the Tarlac Interchange at the connection 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 by 11 km by March 2023 with a 7-km section to San Juan Interchange and 4 km to Umangan-Julo Road at the boundary of Aliaga and Cabanatuan City before Felix Vergara Road and Daang Maharlika Highway, DPWH said in a statement.
Public Works Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office Operations, Emil K. Sadain, inspected recently the continuing construction of the four-lane expressway, including interchanges, overpasses and underpasses from the Aliaga Section to Cabanatuan Section, whose progress was stalled in the past due to unworkable portions due to a problem in the acquisition of road right of way.
CLLEX is part of the Luzon Spine Expressway Network, which is aimed at reducing travel time from the northernmost region of Luzon, Ilocos, to the southernmost region, Bicol.
Other than cutting travel time between Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, the partial opening in 2021 of CLLEX provided motorists with options and spread out traffic better, resulting in reduced transportation costs that benefitted farmers of Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley, DPWH said.
Sadain said the project will also support the country’s new vision for improving agricultural productivity through a toll-free, high-standard highway that allows rice and other products from Nueva Ecija and Region 2 to reach the market centers in Metro Manila much faster and cheaper.
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 through North Luzon Expressway, SCTEX, and TPLEX.
Once fully operational, the P11.811-billion expressway is expected to shorten the usual travel time of 70 minutes between Tarlac City and Cabanatuan City to just 20 minutes.
CLLEX was first proposed in 2010 by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which funded the project through a loan. The project ground-breaking and start of construction was held in 2017, and the first 18-km section was partially opened to motorists in July 2021.
