New places to go, as well as somewhere to drive, are on your list of priorities. The Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway should now be added to your travel plans.
Photo Courtesy: CCLEX
Slowly but surely, the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) project, which eventually completed may boast the country’s most stunning bridge ever, is nearing completion.
The slight gap between the two sides of the new piece of infrastructure finally meets after months of checking in. As of September 30, 2021, the 8.9-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) project was 85.38 percent complete.
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Here are a few things to know about Cebu’s tremendous, game-changing transformation!
1. CLLEX is MPTC’s first toll road project outside Luzon.
The Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC), a subsidiary of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, is the organization behind CCLEX (MPTC). For MPTC, CCLEX is the first expressway project outside of Luzon’s province boundaries. The NLEX, SCTEX, and CAVITEX are all owned, managed, and operated by the toll road developer.
2. Cebu-Cordova bridge will be longer than San Juanico Bridge.
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The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEx), also known as the Cebu–Cordova Bridge, is an 8.5-kilometer-long toll bridge and causeway that spans the Mactan Channel (also known as the Opon Channel). This will be the country’s longest and highest bridge when completed, spanning 8.5 kilometers between Cebu and Cordova. It will be longer than the San Juanico Bridge Expressway, which opened in 1973 and has a total length of 2.1 kilometers.
3. CLLEX will also be the tallest bridge in the Philippines.
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The CCLEX’s main bridge will have a span and height of 51 meters, or about the same height as a 16-story building. Because of this, even very huge marine vessels will be able to securely pass underneath the main bridge.
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4. It has a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour (kph).
It’s a 27m-wide cable-stayed two-pylon bridge with a 51m clearance that connects Cebu and Cordova. According to the CCLEx website, it will be able to handle at least 50,000 vehicles per day at a design vehicle speed of 80-90kph. It will also reduce travel time to Mactan Island’s Mactan Cebu International Airport, the country’s second busiest, by 40 minutes.
5. The bridge will reflect Cebu’s deep Catholic roots.
There will be large crosses on all four sides of the cable-stayed main bridge’s twin pylons, designed to shine a light on Cebu’s rich past and act as a beacon at night. The actual crosses will be about 40 meters high. The massive crosses began to be installed in November.
This bridge’s crosses pay homage to Cebu City landmark Magellan’s Cross, according to Danish architecture firm DISSING+WEITLING architecture, which conceptualized the bridge’s design. In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan is said to have planted the Philippines’ first cross in Cebu, making it the country’s Christian birthplace.
6. CCLEX’s main bridge is equipped with several state-of-the-art types of equipment.
The main bridge of the CCLEX is equipped with cutting-edge technology, including a Road Weather Information System that provides weather updates and warnings for public safety; stay cable accelerometers that monitor stay cable movements; GPS geometric controls at the two towers; and expansion joint movement sensors.
The main bridge’s two towers are “vessel collision-proof,” and its back spans, six on the Cordova side and six on the Cebu City side are equipped with multi-directional bearings. These are energy-absorbing devices that ensure the bridge’s structural safety and stability during an earthquake.
The P30 billion toll bridge, which will be substantially completed by the end of 2021, will feature an all-electronic toll collection system to provide motorists with safe and seamless transit when it opens in the first quarter of 2022. Are you looking forward to driving over this?
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CITATIONS:
About CCLEX. (n.d.). CCLEX. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://cclex.com.ph/about-cclex/
15 Things To Know About the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX). (2020, August 22). The Cebuano. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://thecebuano.com/2020/01/03/15-things-to-know-about-the-cebu-cordova-link-expressway-cclex/
Arminas, D. (2021, September 19). The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway. World Highways. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.worldhighways.com/feature/cebu-cordova-link-expressway
