The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Tuesday said the new section of the Cavite Laguna Expressway (CALAX) is set to be opened to motorists by third quarter of this year.

“I am very pleased that despite the mobility challenges brought about by the pandemic, construction for CALAX Subsection 5 remains on track and would soon be made available to motorists in the third quarter of 2021,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.

“It is a vital portion of CALAX that would help accelerate economic progress of Region IV-A, as it links the two provinces of Cavite and Laguna,”he added. 

CALAX Subsection 5 is a 7.2km, 2×2 lane expressway that will link Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road to Silang, Cavite.  

Once operational, this section of CALAX is expected to serve 5000 vehicles daily, helping decongest traffic along Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road.

Robert V. Bontia, MPCALA Holdings Inc., president and general manager said CALAX Subsection 5 is already 94 percent completed.

Simultaneously, MPCALA and DPWH have started and have reached 18.3 percent construction progress of the next 2.8km CALAX Subsection 4 which will link Aguinaldo Highway to the upcoming Silang East interchange and this segment is set to be completed by 2022. 

“DPWH continues to exert full effort in the acquisition of right-of-way for all the remaining segments to be able to deliver the project by the end of 2022”, Villar said. 

The currently operational segments of CALAX run from Mamplasan to Sta. Rosa, Laguna and serves around 10,000 vehicles daily. 

Upon completion, CALAX will span 45-kilometers with eight (8) 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 and Harbor Link, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX) and Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) in Cebu.