Traffic around Metro Manila may be greatly eased with the opening of Skyway Stage 3, the elevated expressway that connects the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and Skyway to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).
San Miguel Corporation (SMC), concessionaire of the Skyway Stage 3 project, announced that it will open starting tomorrow, Dec. 29, 2020. In addition to being opened to motorists, it will be free of toll for one month, until Jan. 29, 2020.
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) president and chief operating officer, Ramon S. Ang, had promised its opening in time for the holidays.
“We are glad to finally welcome motorists, even on a limited capacity, starting December 29. While this is only a partial opening, given the scale and importance of this project, this is a very significant development. We have the government of President Rodrigo Duterte to thank for paving the way for the continuous construction of Skyway 3 over the past few years. We believe it will be key to our economic recovery after the pandemic,” Ang said.
The Skyway Stage 3 will allow motorists to bypass the ground level roads in and around the Metro Manila to get from north to south and vice versa, helping to alleviate traffic from main thoroughfares like EDSA and C-5. The elevated road is envisioned to reduce travel time from Quezon City to Makati and vice versa to just 20 minutes, and travel time from NLEX to SLEX to just 30 minutes.
Though initially planned to be opened before Christmas, SMC said that natural calamities like late season typhoons had disrupted construction, particularly the curing of the concrete and asphalt. The additional 18 kilometers now brings the Skyway’s total length to 38 kilometers. The Skyway Stage 3 is a part of the government’s Build Build Build infrastructure program.