Portion of CALAX linking Sta. Rosa-Tagatay interchange to Silang 93% complete

MPCALA Holdings Inc. on Friday said the 7.2-kilometer subsection linking the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange to the Silang East Interchange on the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) is now 93% and is targeted to be operational by the third quarter of this year.

MPCALA is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), a unit of Pangilinan-led conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

MPCALA Holdings President and General Manager Roberto Bontia said that once Subsection 5 of the CALAX is operational, the tollway “will serve around 5,000 motorists daily, thereby helping decongest traffic along Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road.”

“It is also expected to help accelerate economic progress in Laguna and Cavite as it connects the two provinces of Region IV-A,” Bontia said in a statement.

As of Friday, the tollway firm said toll structures on the Silang East interchange were already erected while other miscellaneous work including construction of the drainage system, and installation of expressways road and safety features such road lights, guard rails, barriers, remained on track.

Bontia also noted that MPCALA was fully complying with the Department of Public Works and Highways’ and COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force’s (IATF) health guidelines for the safety and protection of all its workers.

Upon completion, CALAX will span 45-kilometers with eight interchanges at the following locations: Kawit, Governor’s Drive, Open Canal, Silang (Aguinaldo) Highway, Silang East, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay, Laguna Boulevard, and Laguna Technopark. It shall serve about 45,000 vehicles while cutting travel time between Cavite and Laguna from 2 hours to under an hour.

MPTC holds the concession rights for the CALAX, Cavitex, C-5 Link Expressway, North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), NLEX Connector Road, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), and Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) in Cebu. — DVM, GMA News