The Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 is partially open starting Tuesday, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said Monday.
It will be toll-free for one month.
“The Skyway Stage 3 will be partially opened tomorrow, Dec. 29. Soon, travel time from NLEX (North Luzon Expressway) to SLEX (South Luzon Expressway) will only be 30 minutes away,” Villar said.
The 18-kilometer, P44.86-billion elevated expressway connects Buendia, Makati City to the North Luzon Expressway in Balintawak, Quezon City, providing link between the two major expressways in Luzon, the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).
It is seen to reduce travel time between both ends from two hours to only 30 minutes.
It also aims to decongest traffic in Metro Manila by as much as 55,000 vehicles daily by providing a diversion road for the overly congested Epifanio delos Santos Ave., Circumferential Road-5, and other major roads in Metro Manila like Quezon Ave., Araneta Ave., Nagtahan, and Quirino Ave.
Villar said that building the elevated expressway is part of the bigger goal to bring the original capacity of EDSA back.
The DPWH Secretary also announced Monday that the Subic Freeport Expressway is now open after undergoing expansion from one lane to two lanes in each direction.
It is an 8.2-kilometer road project that aims to increase road capacity of the expressway which traverses Bataan to Zambales. It has new bridges and a tunnel that are being constructed adjacent to the existing ones.