The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) expects the construction of the P23.36-billion extension of Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) to San Juan, La Union to start by July 2025.
The agency and San Miguel Holdings Corp. (SMHC) signed the contract for the construction of the 59.4-kilometer extension project.
“With the signed PPP contract, the STEIC and DPWH can now proceed with detailed engineering design [DED], parcellary plan, right-of-way [ROW] acquisition for all the segments, so that we can commence civil works by July 2025,” DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said.
Bonoan said the project would be divided in three segments, with first segment aimed for completion before the end of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s term in 2028.
Segment 1 will start from the last exit of TPLEX at Rosario and end in Tubao, which is an additional 18.5 kilometers of four-lane road, while Segment 2 will cover the 23.1-km. section from Tubao to Naguilian. Segment 3 will extend 17.8 km. from Naguilian to San Juan, La Union.
The TPLEX Extension will have five interchanges at Rosario, Tubao, Naguilian, Bauang and San Juan.
Once completed, it will reduce travel time from Rosario to San Juan from one and a half hours to just 40 minutes, further promoting investments and economic development up north.
San Miguel-led Private Infra Dev Corp. holds the concession for TPLEX, an 88.85-km., four-lane, high-speed toll road that connects Northern Luzon to Manila.
It is designed to integrate with other major toll roads such as North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
The construction of TPLEX began in 2010 in three phases. The first was completed in April 2014, running from Tarlac City to Carmen, Pangasinan. The second stretch from Carmen to Urdaneta was completed in December 2014, while the third section is from Urdaneta to Rosario, La Union.
