5 Things You Need To Know About CLLEX

As you may know, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has partially opened the Central Luzon Link Expressway. Also known as CLLEX, the new thoroughfare promises to make travel around Central Luzon faster, and most importantly, convenient. Not only will our drives be better when we visit its provinces, it should make trade and commerce much easier.

You're probably just as excited as we are to drive on this new expressway. With that, there are several interesting things about this new thoroughfare. Here are five of them.

The First 18 Kms Are Open

For now, “only” the first 18 kilometers of highway are open to the public. Nonetheless, it's still quite a distance and enough to bypass several roads and crowded bayans. The expressway currently spans from the Rio Chico bridge in Tarlac, all the way to Aliaga in Nueva Ecija. That means a trip that usually takes about an hour can be done in 20 minutes or less.

Once Complete, It Will Span 66.4 Kms

The first segment that was opened was merely the first half Phase One of its construction. Soon, there will be a direct link to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija for the second half of the first phase. All in all, Phase One will be approximately 30 kilometers long. After that, Phase Two will connect Cabanatuan to San Jose, Nueva Ecija, with the road connecting the two areas will be about 35 kilometers. CLLEX will also connect to other expressways to be integrated in the nation's superhighway network.

The Link to More Expressways

So what highways will CLLEX be connected to in the future? Per the DPWH, the expressway will link the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), and the North Luzon East Expressway (NLEEX). NLEEX is still under construction but it is set to connect Nueva Ecija straight to Metro Manila. Once all of these roads are finished, driving in and out of Metro Manila will become faster and easier.

It's Funded Directly by the General Appropriations Act

Most expressways here are courtesy of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). For example, you have the Skyway under San Miguel Corporation and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) with Metro Pacific Investments Corporation. However, CLLEX is not a project from PPP. Instead, this road was funded by  our taxes from the General Appropriations Act (GAA). That means this road is purely operated by the government with future maintenance and repairs to be covered by taxes.

No Toll Fees!

Because CLLEX is not “owned” by a corporation, the expressway is actually a freeway. That means you don't have to pay for toll fees when you're driving along this highway. That's good news for everyone, don't you think? With toll roads sprouting left and right, it's nice to be able to drive along an expressway without worrying about your RFID balance.