Three major projects under the Luzon High-Standard Highway Network are set to be completed this year, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Monday.

“The C-LEX (Central Luzon Link Expressway), NLEX-SLEX Connector, and the Plaridel Bypass will be fully completed by the end of this year,” Marcos said in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasan Pambansa Complex in Quezon City.

The CLEX, also known as the Central Luzon Link Freeway, will connect the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.

The NLEX-SLEX Connector Road connects those coming from and going to North and South Luzon and vice versa.

The Arterial Road Bypass (Plaridel) Project Phase III, with a length of 22.46 kilometers, is 92 percent completed. Once finished, it will cut travel time between Borol, Balagtas, Maasim, and San Rafael in Bulacan from 69 minutes to 24 minutes and will benefit around 15,000 motorists per day.

At the same time, Marcos reported that Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) and the C5 South Link would be fully operational by next year.

Aside from the three major projects under the Build Better More (BBM) program), the President said thousands of roads and bridges have been constructed.

“As of May this year, 12,000 kilometers worth of roads and more than 1,200 bridges have been built and upgraded across the country,” he said.

“Of note, we have provided the budget to upgrade 367 tbridges and almost 1,600 kilometers of road along our country’s longest thoroughfare – the Maharlika Highway – from Luzon down to Mindanao,”

Under the Inter-Island Linkage Bridge Program, he noted that two major bridges are to be opened to motorists within this year.

“One is the Panguil Bay Bridge – touted as the longest water-spanning bridge in Northern Mindanao. This will connect Lanao del Norte to Misamis Occidental. The other is the Guicam Bridge in Zamboanga Sibugay, which shall connect Olutanga Island to the mainland of Mindanao,” he said.

“We will make sure that right of way issues are resolved in the most equitable, efficient, and expeditious manner so that these will not get in the way of our infrastructure development,” the President added.

Likewise, he acknowledged Congress for passing the Public-Private Partnership, a crucial funding mechanism for big-ticket projects.

“PPP is seen to facilitate strategic investments and the timely development of projects under our Build Better More program, especially since around one-fourth of our flagship projects have been envisioned to be funded through this modality,” Marcos added. (PNA)

Photo credit: NLEX Corporation Website