THE Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX) Phase 1 is set to open before the end of 2019, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The expressway is expected to facilitate fast travel from SCTEX La Paz in Tarlac to Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija, cutting travel time to 15 to 20 minutes.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded the said project at P3.7 billion through the initiative of then President Arroyo Gloria Macapagal Arroyo under the Super Region Program in 2006.

The project was brought into fruition through President Rodrigo Duterte's Build-Build-Build program.

Contract Package 1 involves the construction of a four-lane expressway, spanning 4.1 kilometers, with the provision of an underpass bridge and two farm passages.

Overall, the CLLEX Phase 1 is divided into four packages. It covers the construction of a 30-kilometer, four-lane expressway, which, when completed, will shorten the usual travel time of 70 minutes between Tarlac City and Cabanatuan City to just 20 minutes.

Its alignment will traverse the municipalities of La Paz, in Tarlac and Zaragoza and Aliaga in Nueva Ecija and will benefit an annual average daily traffic of 11,200 motorists.