Tarlac-La Union Expressway

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This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

Tarlac-La Union Expressway
Length:	84.5 km (53 mi)
Direction:	South/North
From:	La Paz, Tarlac
To:	Rosario, La Union

The Tarlac-La Union Expressway is a 85-kilometer four-lane expressway currently under construction north of Manila, in the Philippines. It involves the construction in two phases of an 84.5-kilometer, four-lane expressway from La Paz, Tarlac (terminus of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway) to Rosario, La Union, La Union. ^[1] The project is expected for full operation by 2013.

The first phase will involve the construction of two lanes while the second phase entails its expansion into four lanes to accommodate 25,000 vehicles. The first phase of the Tarlac-La Union Toll Expressway will start in January, 2009, to boost trade, tourism, and speed up transportation in the provinces of Tarlac, Eastern Pangasinan and La Union.

The proposed superhighway will be built parallel to McArthur Highway, passing through the municipalities of Victoria, Gerona, Paniqui, Moncada and San Manuel in Tarlac, and Rosales, Villasis, Urdaneta City, Binalonan, Pozzorubio and Sison in Pangasinan and Rosario, La Union. ^[2]

The resolution recommending the awarding, financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the Tarlac-La Union Toll Expressway Phase 1 to Private Infra Development Corp. (PIDC) has been approved.

The right-of-way (ROW) for the project is situated in the left part, unlike in other projects, as this is the most logical alignment. The Philippine government is still in the process of determining the number of families to be affected by the acquisition of the ROW and the cost it will entail as some parts of the detailed engineering are incomplete.

The project will be implemented through public-private partnership using the built-operate-transfer (BoT) scheme in which the project proponent is responsible for the design, financing, and construction of the initial two-lane expressway.

Once the toll road is completed, it will be turned over to the government. The government will then grant the proponent the franchise to operate and maintain the toll road, after which the proponent, after a certificate to commence toll operation issued by the Toll Regulatory Board, shall operate the road on behalf of the government under a long term concession agreement.