Manila–Cavite Expressway

Daniel Burnham's plan of the Cavite Boulevard from Manila to Cavite

Even before the conception of the expressway, the Cavite Boulevard was planned by Architect Daniel Burnham to connect the city of Manila with the province of Cavite as part of his plan to beautify the city.[3] According to his original concept of the Cavite Boulevard, the bayfront boulevard would be built on reclaimed land from Luneta in Manila to Cavite Navy Yard about 20 miles (32 km) away as it follows the shoreline to Cavite. However, the present-day Roxas Boulevard, a part of this plan, was built up to Parañaque only.

In the 1970s, traffic congestion was a daily occurrence in the narrow stretch of land in Parañaque and Las Piñas going to nearby provinces, particularly Cavite. The Philippine government proposed a major road network that would link Roxas Boulevard to all other parts of Metro Manila and the Southern Tagalog provinces. This led to the construction of a 6.6-kilometer (4.1 mi), four-lane (two on each side) asphalt reclaimed road from Roxas Boulevard leading to the then-municipalities of Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Bacoor which opened in 1985.[4][5] Originally named as the Manila–Cavite Coastal Road, it was renamed to Aguinaldo Boulevard in 1989.[6]

The road deteriorated so fast that there was a need to upgrade the road and upgrade the same to toll standards. This led to the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project (MCTEP), more popularly known as “Coastal Road”. It is a joint venture project of the Public Estates Authority (now called Philippine Reclamation Authority) and the Malaysian group of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) and Renong Berhad (Renong).

Bacoor Exit under construction in 2010 as part of the R1 Expressway Extension project

The groundbreaking of the new expressway was held on September 14, 1995. On July 26, 1996, the Toll Operation Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines (acting through the Toll Regulatory Board), Public Estates Authority and UEM-Mara Philippines Corporation was signed. It was under this Agreement that PEA Tollway Corporation (PEATC) was created. Under the Agreement, PEATC is to undertake and perform the obligations of PEA which is principally the Operation and Maintenance of the toll roads or any segment thereof. Commercial operations started on May 24, 1998.[5]

On 2005, the construction of the expressway's 7-kilometer (4.3 mi) extension from Bacoor to Kawit, Cavite, known as the Segment 4 of R1 Expressway Extension, was started;[7] it was inaugurated on April 27, 2011 and formally opened to motorists on May 1.[4] In 2015, the C-5 Road was extended south to connect to the northbound lanes of the expressway in Las Piñas.

On November 14, 2006, an Operations and Maintenance Agreement was signed among the Philippine Reclamation Authority, UEM-Mara Philippines Corporation (UMPC), and the Toll Regulatory Board, giving UMPC participation in the Operations and Maintenance of the expressway.

On December 28, 2016, the access ramps connecting Coastal Road and NAIA Expressway opened to motorists coming from Cavite and Las Piñas for easier access to NAIA Terminals 1, 2, and 3 and vice versa.

The Pacific Avenue flyover, which was planned in 2016, started construction in 2017 and was expected to be complete by March 2018. However, due to difficulties in transporting equipment and the location of the flyover between the north end of the expressway and the Parañaque Toll Plaza, the completion date was moved to August 2018. The flyover eliminated the signalized intersection for vehicles bound for Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard via Pacific Avenue, and improve the traffic situation around the said intersection.

By June 2018, the expressway is being expanded with the construction of additional lanes on the NAIA–Zapote segment.

CAVITEx–C5 South Link Expressway is a 7.7-kilometer (4.8 mi), six-lane road which will connect C-5 Road from Taguig to CAVITEx.[8] It entails the construction of a 2.2-kilometer-long (1.4 mi) flyover between the C-5 Road in Taguig and the C-5 Road Extension in Pasay (near Merville, Parañaque) over the South Luzon Expressway and Skyway. The second phase includes the completion of the C-5 Road Extension from Merville to Las Piñas and the construction of an interchange with Coastal Road in Parañaque. It is a component of Expressway 2.[9][10]

The construction of the ₱9.5B CAVITEx–C5 South Link project started on May 8, 2016.[11][12] Phase 1 was opened to traffic on July 23, 2019 and completion of the project is expected in 2022.[13][14][15][16]

A proposal to connect the NLEX Harbor Link in Navotas with CAVITEX near Pacific Avenue was revealed by NLEX Corporation to connect NLEX to CAVITEX seamlessly. The expressway will be a 6-lanes elevated expressway (on the majority of the expressway above R-10 and R-1) and built in phases. NLEX is currently proposing the first phase of this expressway, with a length of 5.1 kilometers (3.2 mi) from Navotas Interchange of NLEX Harbor Link on Navotas to Anda Circle in Manila, with the proposed budget between ₱15 billion and ₱16 billion.[17] When this first phase of this expressway is completed, motorists from western Manila will have direct access to NLEX and soon to CAVITEX when the entire expressway is completed.

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation submitted a proposal to the Toll Regulatory Board to extend the expressway from Kawit to Noveleta, as well as an extension further west up to Tanza and north up to Cavite City. The 9.5-kilometer (5.9 mi) extension is estimated to cost ₱22.5 billion.[2][18] A part of the R1 Expressway Extension project that includes the existing Segment 4 (Zapote–Kawit segment),[7] the project proposal also includes a spur road accommodating vehicles from the Cavite Export Processing Zone.[19]

A proposal to extend the expressway from Kawit to Sangley Point Airport in Cavite City was submitted to the Department of Public Works and Highways in 2017 by CAVITEx Holdings, Inc. The proposed project aims to construct a 4.63-kilometer-long (2.88 mi) viaduct.[20] Its cost is yet to be determined as it awaits approval from the government.[21] It is not to be confused with Segment 5.3, which will branch from Noveleta to Cavite City.[19]

The entire route is located in Cavite. This extension project is currently under proposal.[21] 

City/Municipality	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Kawit				Kawit	E3 (CAVITEX)	Southern terminus; connection to the main line
Cavite City				Cavite City	Cavite Navy Yard
				Airport Junction	Sangley Point Airport	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Unopened