Plans to build an expressway system from Metro Manila to La Union had been raised before the 2000s;[2] construction began in January 27, 2010 and was partially opened in October 30, 2013 for the first segments.

[4][5] TPLEX follows a route that parallels the MacArthur Highway, running through the provinces of Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and La Union.

The expressway then crosses through a viaduct over the Agno River, then enters Urdaneta, which is served by a single interchange to connect with Manila North Road.

[7][8] Despite calls to create an expressway system from the Manila to Rosario, the southernmost town of the La Union province had been raised before the turn of the millennium.

[12][13] In 1994, the PNCC entered into a MOU with Italian-Thai Development for the extension of the NLEX to Pangasinan and La Union, as well as the expansion and widening of the expressway from four to eight lanes under the build-operate-transfer scheme.

[17] On December 30, 1996, Itochu Corporation of Japan signed an agreement with the PNCC to build the extension of the NLEX to Pangasinan, and a pre-feasibility study was conducted.

Meanwhile, the route has a total length of 88 kilometers (55 mi) from Mabalacat, Pampanga, to Urdaneta, Pangasinan, with a planned extension to San Fernando, La Union.

In 2004, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) proposed the 84.5-kilometer (52.5 mi) extension of the SCTEX to link Club John Hay in Baguio and Poro Point in San Fernando before ending in Rosario, La Union.

5749[21] to lobby for a project to extend the expressway to Rosario, as a means to boost trade, tourism, and reduce travel times in the provinces of Tarlac, Eastern Pangasinan, and La Union.

The proposed superhighway would be built parallel to MacArthur Highway, passing through the city of Tarlac and the municipalities of La Paz, Gerona, Victoria, Pura, Anao, and Ramos in Tarlac, Nampicuan and Cuyapo in Nueva Ecija, Rosales, Villasis, Urdaneta, Binalonan, Laoac, Pozorrubio, and Sison in Pangasinan, and Rosario, La Union.

[30] However, legal disputes that had arisen regarding affected properties, notably in the Tarlac segment of the project,[31] meant delays in negotiations undertaken by the DPWH.

[34][35][36] Former Pangasinan 5th District Representative Mark Cojuangco proposed three alignments: one would pass through Urdaneta City, then San Fabian, and exits Brgy.

In December 2014, Dumol projected that the last section, covering 25.83 kilometers (16.05 mi) from Urdaneta to Rosario and including an exit in Pozorrubio, would be completed some time in 2015.

[43] However, there were delays in the implementation of the project, which included a highly disputed proposal to divert the exit 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) away to San Fabian in Pangasinan.

There are also plans to move the extension terminus to San Juan, La Union and will be divided into three segments,[51] namely: In June 2023, the NEDA-ICC approved the project with a total cost of ₱23.4 billion, and it would be funded through a PPP scheme.

[52][53] In November of that year, the government opened a bidding for a comparative proposal as the Swiss challenge was greenlighted by the DPWH, and was originally scheduled to award the contract by March or May 2024.

[54] On June 3, 2024, San Miguel Holdings Corporation (SMHC) was given the contract to design, finance, construct, operate, and maintain the extension project.

DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan said that San Miguel and the government agency could now proceed with the detailed engineering design and right-of-way acquisition after signing the contract for the 59.4-kilometer (36.9 mi) tollway project.

[56][57] On June 11, 2013, at the San Miguel Corporation annual stockholders meeting, Chairman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. revealed plans to extend the expressway north to Laoag, Ilocos Norte.

[61] On March 21, 2024, San Miguel Holdings Corporation president and CEO Ramon Ang and Pangasinan’s provincial government officials led by Governor Ramon Guico III unveiled the historical marker for the ₱34 billion 42.76 kilometers (26.57 mi) "Pangasinan Link Expressway" project during the groundbreaking ceremony after signing the joint venture and tollway concession agreements for its construction.