President Rodrigo Duterte personally led this Thursday the inauguration of the first phase of the Central Luzon Link Expressway or CLLEX that will be open to motorists.
This is the 18-kilometer expressway that will connect the provinces of Tarlac and Nueva Ecija.
It has 4 lanes and is toll-free for motorists. In addition, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) or Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) to Aliaga-Guimba Road in Nueva Ecija can also pass here.
This is just the first part of a total 30-kilometer CLLEX that targets to speed up motorists’ commute to 20 minutes from the previous 70 minutes.
The project was allegedly started under the Duterte administration itself through its flagship project “Build, Build, Build.”
In Duterte’s speech, he thanked everyone who was part of the project.
“Directly linked with SCTEX and TPLEX, this should greatly benefit commuters going to and from Metro Manila and Cabanatuan City with a shorter commute, allowing them to have more time for their families and other productive activities,” said Duterte.
“This project will improve movement of goods going to and from Metro Manila and Central Luzon, which will be beneficial to entrepreneurs, consumers, and the economy,” he added.
He also thanked the Japanese government for funding the project and other projects under Build, Build, Build.
Duterte leads inauguration of Central Luzon Link Expressway section
The entire project cost P11.8 billion and was funded using a Japan International Cooperation Agency loan or JICA.
From the west, Central Luzon Link Expressway begins at a trumpet interchange with the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEX) in Tarlac City. The expressway intersects Santa Rosa–Tarlac Road at a diamond interchange where the expressway passes above grade. The expressway then passes agricultural land before turning east as it enters La Paz.
It crosses La Paz–Victoria Road, where an interchange serving entering westbound vehicles and exiting eastbound vehicles connects the two. Then, the expressway continues east as it crosses through a viaduct over the Rio Chico River and crosses the Tarlac–Nueva Ecija boundary before crossing the Talavera River.
Central Luzon Link Expressway then continues east as it enters Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija. It turns northeast as it meets Zaragoza interchange, a trumpet interchange connecting with Zaragoza–Aliaga Road. Then, it makes a reverse curve turning southeast before crossing Guimba–Aliaga Road as it enters Aliaga, where a temporary exit is built as the expressway’s current terminus.
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