A portion of the 45-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CalaEx) project was opened yesterday, providing relief to motorists ahead of All Saints’ Day.
The opening of the 10-km segment from the Mamplasan Toll Barrier to the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange was led by project concessionaire MPCala Holdings Inc. and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The access points will cut travel time between Mamplasan and the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay road to 10 minutes from 45 minutes.
MPCala president and general manager Roberto Bontia said the company would open one lane between those portions during select hours since it had yet to obtain the necessary permits from the DWPH and the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).
On Oct. 30, the lane will be open until 10 p.m. while from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, it will be open from 6 a.m through 10 p.m.
Starting Nov. 3, the lane will be open from Sunday to Thursday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Friday and Saturday times were set at 6 a.m. through 10 p.m.
“This will only be temporary, until the remaining works for these first subsections are completed. The road will be lit at strategic locations and the public is reminded to drive safely and observe speed limits of 60 kilometers per hour, and relevant traffic rules while traveling along the partially opened lane,” Bontia said.
“Upon issuance of the relevant certifications and permits from [the] DPWH and TRB, full access to the completed lanes and other interchanges and 24-hour commercial operations shall be possible,” he added.
Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said the opening would benefit some 10,000 motorists. He said the section could be fully opened by December this year.
“I’m sure many of our kababayans will take advantage of the time to do some family bonding and go on a road trip,” Villar said.
CalaEx is designed to be a four-lane, tolled expressway that will connect Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) in Kawit to South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) at their Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.
It will have interchanges in eight locations: Cavitex Connection to Open Canal Road, Governor’s Drive, Silang, Silang East, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Boulevard, Technopark to Greenfield before SLEx.
Metro Pacific tollways is a subsidiary of Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Its domestic portfolio includes the concessions of North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), the Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway, the NLEx connector road, Cavitex and Cavitex C5 Link, and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in Cebu.