MPTC to widen Cavitex-Calax lanes to accommodate traffic

A unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) is planning on expanding the lanes of the 7.4-kilometer Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) R1 extension that links Bacoor to Kawit.

Raul Ignacio, MPT South Management Corp. president and general manager, told reporters last week they want to make the Cavitex R1 extension a 3×3 tollway from the initial design of 2×2.

The proposal is set to be sent to the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) for approval.

READ: Calax cued for full run by Q3 2025

Q3 2025 target

In May, the MPTC awarded the P1.79-billion construction contract for the tollway project to Yuchengco-led EEI Corp.

Civil works started on June 8 and are aimed to be finished by the third quarter of next year. As of September, completion rate stood at 11.12 percent.

While the tollway operator is pursuing this expansion, it also plans on building a toll road linking Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge and Calax, providing motorists a direct route from Mariveles to General Trias.

Ignacio previously said they were in talks with the provincial government of Cavite for this proposed project.

He stressed, however, that the interconnection was hinged on the realization of the Bataan-Cavite bridge. The latter, a 32-km interisland bridge from Barangay Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan through Manila Bay and up to Barangay Timalan, Naic, Cavite, is expected to begin construction this year.

For next year, the MPTC subsidiary projects average daily traffic volume to grow by 30 percent to over 340,000 motorists from nearly 260,000 this year. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad