The DPWH Says the Opening of Silang Section of CALAX in First Quarter of 2023 Is Still Possible

The Silang (Aguinaldo) section of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) can still be opened to motorists by the first quarter of 2023, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) believes said on Sunday (December 4). 

The revised target is a quarter delayed from the original December 2022 commitment for this section of the expressway. 

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According to DPWH director for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Alex Bote, the delivery of right of way (ROW) for the said section was slightly affected by legal matters. But the assistance of the local government units (LGUs) may hasten the settlement of the legal tussles, he added.

“Slightly, we're affected by ROW issues at Trial Courts, especially at Silang. But there's a meeting at the site with the LGU that will assist us to settle such,” Bote said. 

In late November, Silang Mayor Kevin Anarna said the local government unit will meet with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and private landowners to “speed up the completion of the project that is crucial to its development and achievement of cityhood status by 2025.”

The Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange subsection of the Calax is currently at 64 percent completion rate. A critical portion of the expressway lacks a parcel of land roughly 450 meters long which prevents the company from opening another section of the expressway.  

The fifth segment out of a total of eight segments of the 45-kilometer expressway spans 3.9-km, with 2x2 lane expressway from Silang East Interchange to Aguinaldo Highway in Cavite. Upon completion, this will serve more motorists, including the 298,000 residents of Silang, given the reduced traffic situation.

But despite the right of way issues, Bote said the DPWH remains optimistic that the Calax will be completed within the first three months of 2023. 

"Still, the target of completion up to Aguinaldo is feasible by first quarter next year," he said.  

The current average daily traffic from Mamplasan to Silang East interchange is roughly 33,000. This is expected to increase to 40,000 when the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange finally opens, which will ease the usual bottleneck along the 41-kilometer Aguinaldo Highway—the busiest main thoroughfare in Cavite—as well as Governor’s Drive and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road. 

To date, Calax’s operational segment spans 14.24-kilometer with interchanges at Greenfield-Mamplasan, Laguna Technopark, Laguna Boulevard, Santa Rosa-Tagaytay, and Silang East. Other interchanges of Calax, namely, Open Canal, Governor’s Drive, and Kawit, are targeted to be completed by 2023. Upon completion of the entire public-private partnership (PPP) project of the DPWH and MHI, it will connect to the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) in Kawit, Cavite.