Metro Pacific hastens progress on C-5 Link; heavy traffic expected

A unit of infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. plans to accelerate and complete new phases of its Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) C5 Link Expressway.

The P15-billion project is being built by Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation (CIC), a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. It aims to cut travel time from Makati and Taguig to Parañaque City, Las Piñas City, and Cavite province from an hour to about 10 minutes and serve an estimated 50,000 vehicles per day.

C5 Link Expressway is comprised of segments 2 and 3. CIC said Segment 2 and Segment 3A-2, a subsection of Segment 3, were slated for completion by the second quarter of 2022.

“We are doubling our efforts on the construction of Segment 2 and Segment 3A-2 this beginning of 2021,” CIC president and general manager Roberto V. Bontia said in a statement.

“With the challenges brought about by the pandemic, we will ensure to stick to the timeline as close as we can and be able to the open the new segments in Cavitex C5 Link next year,” he added.

Segment 2 is a 1.9-kilometer, two by three lane expressway from Cavitex (R1) to a proposed interchange in Sucat. Segment 3A-2 is a 1.6-km two by three lane expressway from Merville to RSG (Airport View) Subdivision in Parañaque.

CIC also warned motorists to prepare for heavier traffic conditions as it announced the start of heavy maintenance activities at the Cavitex on Feb. 27. The program would run for 60 days, the company added.

“There will definitely be an effect on the passage of our motorists in the construction areas,” Bontia said.

“That is why we have laid out a comprehensive traffic management plan supporting all these works to ease their passage and additional on-ground support and more than ample signages will also be positioned to ensure safety and smooth flow of vehicles,” he added.