DPWH Secretary Mark Villar and Sta. Rosa City Mayor Arlene Arcilla do an inspection of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway.

Motorists enroute to Batangas, Cavite and Laguna now have an alternative route as the first 10-kilometer segments of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) from the Mamplasan Toll Barrier to the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange on Wednesday has been partially opened.

The opening comes in time for the three-day All Souls’ Day weekend from 1 to 3 November.

MPCALA Holdings Inc. (MPHI) president Bobby Bontia said the expressway is open to all vehicles from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. today and tomorrow, 1 November. For the daily access time, the segment will be opened from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday to Saturday.

Bontia stressed that this arrangement would be temporary until the remaining work for the first subsections are completed.

Meanwhile, Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said the government has prodded the private contractor to fast-track the project as traffic volume for the coming holiday is expected to increase by 10 percent.

“Undas is falling on a Friday… I only see benefits in opening CALAX even on a single lane basis to decongest Laguna Boulevard, Aguinaldo Highway,” Villar said.

With the P35 billion CALAX project now 90 percent complete, Villar said the remaining 10 percent is being fast-tracked to meet its target of being fully operational before the year ends.

Approximately 10,000 cars are expected to enter and exit through the two access points, Mamplasan Barrier for westbound vehicles and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Entry for eastbound vehicles.

“This section will take 10 minutes to drive. A big cut on travel time compared to the 45-minutes it currently takes to travel Mamplasan to Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road,” Villar said.

Although the road will be lit in strategic locations, the public is reminded to drive safely and observe the 60 kph speed limit and relevant traffic rules.

Upon issuance of the relevant certifications and permits from DPWH and TRB, full access to the completed lanes and other interchanges and 24-hour commercial operations shall be possible.

The 45-kilometer CALAX is a 4-lane tolled expressway connecting CAVITEX in Kawit to South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) at the Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.