The Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX), also known as the Central Luzon Link Freeway, is a partially operational expressway in the

Central Luzon Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

region of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It will connect the

Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), signed as E1 and E4 of the Philippine expressway network and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is controlled-access toll expressway in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Fro ...

(SCTEX) and the

Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway The Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEX), signed as E1 of the Philippine expressway network and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is a controlled-access toll expressway that connects the Central Luzon region with the ...

(TPLEX) to the currently under-construction North Luzon East Expressway in

Cabanatuan Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan ( fil, Lungsod ng Cabanatuan; ilo, Siudad ti Cabanatuan), is a 1st class component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 327,325 p ...

towards San Jose,

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province ...

. It is currently toll-free and exclusively open to Class 1 vehicles but it will be tolled and opened to other classes of vehicles in the future.

Route description

CLLEX runs in an east-west direction from Tarlac City to San Jose, Nueva Ecija. The entire route is built as a four-lane expressway mostly laid out on

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railway ...

Phase 1

From the west, CLLEX begins at a trumpet interchange with the

(SCTEX) and

(TPLEX) in Tarlac City. The expressway intersects Santa Rosa–Tarlac Road at a diamond interchange where the expressway passes above grade. The expressway then passes agricultural land, before turning east as it enters

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bol ...

. It crosses La Paz–Victoria Road where an interchange serving entering westbound vehicles and exiting eastbound vehicles, connects the two. The expressway continues east as it crosses through a viaduct over the Rio Chico River, and crosses the Tarlac–Nueva Ecija boundary before crossing the Talavera River. The expressway then continues east as it enters

Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija Zaragoza, officially the Municipality of Zaragoza ( tl, Bayan ng Zaragoza), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,090 people. The municipality derived its ...

. It turns northeast as it meets Zaragoza interchange, a trumpet interchange connecting with Zaragoza–Aliaga Road. It makes a

reverse curve In civil engineering, a reverse curve (or "S" curve) is a section of the horizontal alignment of a highway or railroad route in which a curve to the left or right is followed immediately by a curve in the opposite direction. On highways in the ...

turning southeast before crossing Guimba–Aliaga Road as it enters Aliaga, where a temporary exit is built as the expressway's current terminus.

History

In 2010, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) formulated the creation of an expressway network under the High Standard Highway Network Development Master Plan, focusing on a growth area within the 200 km radium sphere of Metro Manila. The DPWH, under JICA's assistance, completed the feasibility study for the proposed Central Luzon Expressway (CLEX) on the same year. The proposed project was to divided into two (2) phases: Phase 1 with a 30.7 km network beginning from the connection of SCTEX and TPLEX in Balingcanaway, Tarlac City and ends at the Pan-Philippine Highway (Daang Maharlika) in Caalibangbangan, Cabanatuan City; and Phase 2 with 35.7 km network beginning from the Phase 1 terminus in Cabanatuan City and ends at San Jose town proper. The project was renamed to Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) in 2011 after the preparatory survey and final report plan for Phase 1 was concluded. The

Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...

(JICA) would fund the construction of the 66.4-kilometer CLLEX, while operation and maintenance would be under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme. The construction of the CCLEX Phase 1 project was funded thru the

Official Development Assistance (Japan) The is an arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). The goal of the office is to help developing nations with supplies, civil engineering and other assistance. The ODA was started in 1954 after Japan signed the Colombo Plan, which pledges to ...

grant of ¥22,796,000,000 (₱11.87 billion, March 2012 exchange rate) at a signing agreement ceremony by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alberto F. Romulo and Japan Ambassador Toshinao Urabe. In the President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

's State of the Nation address in 2014, the CLLEX was one of many of the administration's priority projects involving massive infrastructure spending in Central Luzon. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 22, 2017, along with the beginning of construction. The expressway was originally planned to open in December 2020, but was repeatedly delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The first of the expressway from Tarlac City to Aliaga was inaugurated by President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

on July 15, 2021. The expressway opened to vehicles on the same day. In July 2022, DPWH announced that CLLEX will be completed by July 2023. The current Phase 1 terminus in Aliaga will see an extension of seven kilometers up to San Juan Interchange and four kilometers to Umangan–Julo Road, before ending at Felipe Vergara Highway and the Pan–Philippine Highway.

Exits

Notes

References

External links

Central Luzon Link Expressway: Build.gov.ph

CLLEx from Department of Public Works and Highways
{{Philippine expressway network Roads in Nueva Ecija Roads in Tarlac Toll roads in the Philippines