More infra projects to be completed soon: DPWH

FILE: The Santa Ines-bound NLEX, just north of Paso de Blas, Valenzuela (Photo By Patrickroque01 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA – After the opening of the NLEX Harbor Link Segment early this week, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is looking to complete several road networks in the coming months.

The next targets for completion are the TPLEX (Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway) and Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX), DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said during the Laging Handa program on Friday.

“The people will see that the government continues to work on infrastructure projects and President Rodrigo Duterte is committed on the Build, Build, Build (BBB) program,” Villar added.

Villar said once the TPLEX, particularly Rosario exit in La Union, is completed it will cut travel time by 20-30 minutes going to Baguio City.

Villar said they are also planning to extend TPLEX up to San Fernando, La Union.

The DPWH is looking to open to motorists the major segment of CLLEX Phase 1 leading to Cabanatuan City by end of this year.

The PHP14.94-billion flagship infrastructure project is now 82 percent completed and about 25-kilometer stretch is targeted to open by December 2020.

The CLLEX project is a four-lane 30-kilometer expressway from SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway) and TPLEX (Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway) connection in Balincanaway, Tarlac City and ends at Daang Maharlika in Brgy. Caalibangbangan, Cabanatuan City.

On June 15, the DPWH opened the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 R10 Spur Link which will connect Port Area in Manila to NLEX within a span of only 15 to 20 minutes.

It was constructed within 20 months as the construction started in September 2018. It was completed last Monday.

The NLEX Harbor Link, which costs PHP6.55 billion, is one of the high impact projects of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.