Welcome news for commuters and motorists: The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officially opened the first segment of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) on Wednesday, in time for the exodus of people going to their provinces for the Undas break.
DPWH Sec. Mark Villar said the riding public should benefit from the partial operation of CALAX (with a single lane being opened). It is expected to decongest the Laguna Boulevard and Aguinaldo Highway.
“We all know that Undas is a time we all pay respects to family and friends who have passed on, and with November 1 falling on a Friday, I’m sure many of our kababayans will take advantage of the time to do some family bonding and go on a road trip,” Villar said.
He added that the CALAX is now 90 percent complete while the remaining 10 percent is being fast-tracked.
Around 10,000 vehicles are expected to traverse through the Mamplasan entry for the westbound vehicles and the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay entry for the eastbound motorists, according to Villar.
He said that the newly opened segment will cut down travel time to 10 minutes from the current 45-minute drive from Mamplasan to Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road.
Meanwhile, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation subsidiary MP CALA Holdings, Inc. president and General manager Bobby Bontia said that the daily access time will be during Sunday to Thursday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. During Friday to Saturday, however, the access window will be extended from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“This will only be temporary, until the remaining work for this first segment is finished before December. By then full access of the other interchanges and 24-hour use shall be possible,” Bontia said.
The P35-billion, four-lane CALAX is a 45-kilometer expressway that will link Cavitex in Kawit to the South Luzon Expressway at its Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.