President Rodrigo Duterte recently led the inauguration of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) project, an iconic bridge that links mainland Cebu in Cebu City to Mactan Island through Cordova.
The 8.9-kilometer CCLEX is highlighted by its iconic crosses on top of the twin pylons of the cable-stayed main bridge over the Mactan Channel befitting Cebu’s titles as “The Queen City of the South,” the Philippine’s oldest city, and considered to be “Asia’s Cradle of Christianity.”
Joining the President in the inauguration are Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) Chairman Manuel Pangilinan, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Public Works and Highways Secretary Roger Mercado, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, and various officials from the different government agencies, local government units, and foreign dignitaries.
Also witnessing the event from DPWH are Senior Undersecretary Rafael Yabut; Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral; Assistant Secretaries Wilfredo Mallari, Eric Ayapana and Rolito Manalo; Region 7 Director Edgar Tabacon; and Public Private Partnership Service Director Alex Bote.
The Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) project is the first expressway outside Luzon.
The construction of the first expressway outside Luzon was undertaken by project developer Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC), a subsidiary company of MPTC, through a joint venture agreement with Cebu City and the municipality of Cordova.
The cable-stayed twin single pylon main bridge has a span length of 390 meters.
The cable-stayed twin single pylon main bridge has a span length of 390 meters.
Its pylon height of 145 meters and a navigational vertical clearance of 52.5 meters and 260 meters horizontal clearance are sufficient for the passage of large vessels.
With a carrying capacity of two lanes per direction, the expressway project also involves the construction of 1,350 meters of the viaduct and 5,219 meters of the causeway, and 603 meters of low-level bridges.
The now-landmark Cebu skyline is expected to serve around 50,000 vehicles daily.