Final leg of TPLEX to be finished by June — Villar

Good news for travelers — road trips to the northern parts of Luzon will soon become faster as the last section of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) is on schedule to be completed by June this year. This is according to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar.

TPLEX spans from Pozorrubio, Pangasinan to Rosario, La Union. Nevertheless, Villar said the DPWH plans to extend the expressway to San Fernando, La Union.

Issues along the way

Mayor Danilo Uy of Sison expressed doubts on whether the DPWH would meet its target date. He said “there is a lot of work to be done,” pointing out that only one of four bridges along the section traversing his town had been completed so far.

Right of way (ROW) problems had also started to crop up, according to Uy. Some affected residents have already sought his help.

DPWH resident engineer and team leader for the TPLEX project Arthur Narciso said ROW issues were prevalent in road projects.

“One of the problems is the claimants’ documents. There are different scenarios. Some of them lack documents, and some properties are untitled,” he said.