The first 18-kilometer section of the Central Luzon Expressway (CLLEX) will be opened to motorists this July, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
In a statement on Tuesday, Public Works and Highways Sec. Mark Villar said that motorists will be able to use the first segment of the expressway from SCTEX/TPLEX connection in Tarlac City up to the intersection of Aliaga-Guimba Road in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija beginning next month.
According to Villar, the contract packages covering the Tarlac and Rio Chico River Bridge sections with a combined total length of 10.5 kilometers are already finished while construction of the 9.2-kilometer Aliaga Section is 87 percent complete.
The DPWH said that the 30-kilometer expressway that will link the cities of Tarlac and Cabanatuan is 94 percent complete.
Once operational, the ₱11.811-billion expressway is expected to shorten the usual travel time of 70 minutes between Tarlac City and Cabanatuan City to just 20 minutes.
The project is one of the key infrastructure projects that the Japan International Cooperation Agency supports under the Build Build Build program.