This signals the start of the construction of the 88.58-kilometer road project that will traverse Tarlac City and the municipalities of Victoria, Gerona, Paniqui, and Moncada and Urdaneta City, and the municipalities of Rosario and Pozzorubio in Pangasinan.  The four-lane expressway project will start from the terminal point of the new Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) in La Paz, Tarlac all the way to Rosario, La Union and will link the existing Rosario to Baguio Road. 

The inauguration attended by Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., Tarlac Governor Victor Yap, Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino, La Union Governor Manuel Ortega, Bataan Governor Enrique Garcia, and other national and local government officials.  Also present were D. M. Consunji, Inc. President Jorge Consunji, First Balfour President Anthony Fernandez, PIDC President Sammy Lazo, and PIDC Chairman Rogelio Morga, who assisted the President in the groundbreaking rites.

The winning proponent of the TLUTE project, Private Infrastructure Development Corporation (PIDC), a consortium of Filipino private contractors consisting of D. M. Consunji, Inc., First Balfour, Inc., EEI Corporation, C. M. Pancho Construction Inc., R. D. Policarpio and Co., Inc., J. E. Manalo and Co., Inc., J. V. Angeles Construction Corporation, D. M. Wenceslao and Associates, Inc., New Kanlaon Construction Inc., and Rockford Development Corporation.  This will be a landmark undertaking of an all-Filipino Public-Private Partnership via the Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) variant scheme – wherein the project proponent is responsible for the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the project.

With its expected completion by 2013, travel time from Manila to Baguio will be considerably reduced from the present 5-6 hours to 3.5 hours, with a safe speed of 80 kilometers-per-hour.  This will promote tourism from the north and spur the economic development of Central and Northern Luzon provinces, and eventually lowering the cost of farm and fishery products coming from the region.