President Duterte inaugurated on Thursday the 18-kilometer Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 project – an elevated expressway that connects the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) from Buendia in Makati City to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Balintawak, Quezon City.
(ALFRED FRIAS/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
With the President at the opening ceremony of the elevated expressway built under the government’s Build, Build, Build Program were Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) President Ramon Ang, and other officials.
By connecting NLEX to SLEX, travel time will now be reduced from two hours to only 30 minutes, while travel from Makati to QuezonCity may now be only 20 minutes as the new expressway redirects as much as 55,000 motorists from the congested EDSA traffic daily.
“Today, the President delivers on his promise to decongest EDSA. This is just one of 25 projects which we will complete under the EDSA Decongestion Program,” Secretary Villar said.
“When we assumed office in 2016, the congestion level was at 71 percent – the second worst traffic congestion in the world. We were losing P3.5 billion a day due to traffic in Metro Manila. This will no longer be the case in 2022 due to the President's political will.
“For the first time in Philippine history, expressways operated by different concessionaires interconnect for the benefit of the Filipino people,” Villar noted.
The original alignment of Skyway Stage 3 was deemed not feasible so it was realigned to follow the San Juan River alignment in October 2018.
Villar also acknowledged the role of the Skyway 3 concessionaire – Citra Central Expressway Corporation – for partnering with the government in realizing the vision of better Philippines through infrastructure development.
The Skyway Stage 3 project has seven ramps –Buendia Northbound On Ramp and Southbound Off Ramp; Plaza Dilao Southbound On Ramp; Quezon Avenue Northbound and Southbound On and Off Ramp; and Balintawak Northbound Off Ramp and Southbound On Ramp.
A total of P44.66 billion funded under the Public-Private Partnership Program was allotted for the completion of the elevated expressway expected to boost development outside Metro Manila through the seamless road network.
Ang credited President Duterte for his strong leadership and political will, which he said played a significant role in settling right-of-way issues that delayed the massive infrastructure project for years.
“Because of the strong leadership of President Duterte, and with the help of his hands-on Cabinet secretaries and economic team, we were able to finally resolve right-of-way issues and complete Skyway 3,” Ang said.
“This is a game-changer for our economy, especially now that we are still dealing with the pandemic. By providing seamless access between north and south, we also unlock the true potential of our provinces,” Ang added.