CCLEX over and above 50 percent in progress, stay cable installation signals project start off

Builders of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) have turned another corner in the construction of the ₱30-billion toll bridge, right in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the project improvement being at 61%. Set to be a new landmark in the country, CCLEX will connect the mainland Cebu from Cebu City to the Municipality of Cordova in Mactan Island.

CCLEX over and above 50 percent in progress, stay cable installation signals project start off

The overall engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) progress of the project is at 61%, while the construction progress alone is at 48%. This important progress is characterized by the construction of its stay cables, which will carry the bridge deck, and the construction of a cross on the top of the CCLEX pylons, one of the iconic features of the project.

“CCLEX is set to be nearing substantial completion in 2021. Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, we commit to continue working hard towards completing the project next year for the benefit of the Cebuanos. It is something we look forward to, given the current conditions,” said Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC) President and General Manager Allan Alfon.

There will be 14 stay cables on either side of the two towers of the main bridge, or a total of 56 that will range in length from 60 meters to 210 meters, both anchored on the pylon and the deck.

On the other hand, the cross, which will be luminous on four sides at night until done, is 40 meters long. The lighted cross symbolizes Cebu’s important role as the birthplace of Catholic devotion.

In addition to these installations, other experiments are also being carried out simultaneously on the other modules and parts of the CCLEX initiative. These include the concreting of the bridge deck and the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) on the ramp; the construction of columns on the CSCR off-ramp, the Cebu viaduct, and the Cordova viaduct; and the piling of small bridges on the causeway, which will act as the entry for fishermen to their fishing grounds.

Once completed, the expressway will have two lanes in each direction, offering a safe, fast, and scenic journey to an estimated 50,000 vehicles every day, easing traffic in the current Marcelo Fernan Bridge and Mandaue-Mactan Bridge. It is also seen to promote trading activities and to open up greater economic opportunities for Cebu and the rest of the Visayas region.

CCLEC, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), is undertaking the CCLEX project under a joint venture agreement with the local governments of Cebu City and Cordova.

Cebu Link Joint Venture (CLJV) is the contractor for the “Build and Design” of the CCLEX project. CLJV is a consortium of the Spanish company, Acciona Construccion S.A., and Filipino companies, First Balfour, and D.M. Consunji, Inc.

CCLEC also engaged the services of COWI A/S of Denmark with the Philippines’ DCCD Engineering Corporation, as its sub-consultant, to be its project’s technical advisor/owner’s engineer. Norconsult, a Norwegian consulting firm, has also been tapped as an independent consultant for the project.