Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark A. Villar, with his team, did a final inspection of the first sections of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) which covered the Mamplasan Barrier onto Laguna Technopark Interchange, Laguna Boulevard Interchange all the way to Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange.
Villar said, “The project is 90% completed. The remaining 10% are portions of the expressway that need to be harmonized, we are fast tracking those portions. Meantime we will open CALAX to serve motorists this All Saint’s Day, we will open the entry and exit points at Mamplasan, Binan Laguna and 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. Approximately 10,000 cars are expected to enter and exit through these 2 access points. This section will approximately be 10 minutes to drive. A big cut on travel time compared to the 45-minutes it currently takes to travel Mamplasan to 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 45minutes to an hour to drive from Mamplasan to Kawit Cavite and will serve about 50,000 vehicles.” Added Villar.
The inspection was conducted along with Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) subsidiary MP CALA Holdings, Inc. led by President and General Manager Bobby Bontia who said, “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.”
“CALAX is designed to be a 4-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 8 locations, namely: 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 advance 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.” Bontia added.
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.