An upgraded national highway system in Mactan Island will be ready to complement the opening of the P30B Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) by next year.
This was announced by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Sec. Mark A. Villar during the project inspection conducted last Friday, July 16, at the CCLEX main bridge deck overlooking the Mactan Channel.
Sec. Villar was joined by Presidential Communications Head Secretary Martin Andanar and officials of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) and Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC).
“At the Cebu side, we have allowed the interconnection of the major on/off CCLEX bridge ramps into the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR). I am pleased to know that the major girder installation above the CSCR viaduct was successful”, Villar said. The integration will ensure a seamless and safe motorist journey for the future CCLEX users, Villar added.
“At the Mactan side, the DPWH has widened sections of the Mactan Circumferential Road (MCR) in Babag 2 in Lapulapu City and Pilipog in Cordova”, Villar also reported. “We are putting priority on the completion of a remaining section of the ongoing Gabi-Pilipog Coastal Highway, also in Cordova. This section will significantly help improve the road network in Mactan Island, especially the accessibility between the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) and Cordova Coastal Highway.
Meanwhile, the CCLEX team thanked DPWH through Secretary Mark Villar, for the road projects.
“We are happy to show to Secretary Mark Villar the progress of the CCLEX project today, three years after he witnessed our initial board piling works. This inspection is also an opportunity for us to thank the DPWH for being a reliable partner during the construction, particularly in observing safety standards at the CSCR and ensuring better access to the project site at the Mactan side,” said Allan G. Alfon, President and GM of Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC).
“We highly appreciate the value of the new road projects of the DPWH. These are important links to further enhance traffic flow to and from the expressway when we open by first quarter next year,” Alfon added.
The CCLEX is 8.5km expressway project and a P30B investment of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, the toll road arm of the MVP group under a PPP framework with the local governments of Cebu City and the Municipality of Cordova. CCLEX is envisioned not only to help decongest traffic in Metro Cebu but also spur economic development and improve the lives of the people in the area.
As of June 30, 2021, the project’s construction progress has reached 80 percent.
The 8.5-kilometer CCLEX will use a full electronic toll system to enable faster traffic flow and seamless travel when it opens to motorists on the first quarter of 2022.
CCLEX, highlighted by its iconic crosses on top of the twin pylons of the cable-stayed main bridge over the Mactan Channel, is MPTC’s first toll road project outside Luzon. It has a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour (kph) and a navigational clearance or height of 51 meters to allow large vessels to pass underneath the bridge.
MPTC is the largest toll road concessionaire and operator in the Philippines, which expansion goals include establishing toll operations in other parts of the Philippines, and in neighboring countries notably Vietnam, and Indonesia.
