San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Sunday (April 11) opened two of three lanes of the Skyway Extension project's northbound section , with no toll fees until further notice.
The northbound section covers four kilometers from Susana Heights to Sucat in Paranaque and can be used by Class 1 vehicles with RFID starting 4 pm yesterday, announced SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang.
Together with Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, the SMC President conducted the final inspection of the project before opening it to the public.
“The completion of the northbound section of Skyway Extension is testament to what the government and the private sector can achieve together," Villar remarked.
"We are confident that by 2022, President Duterte's promise of decongesting EDSA will come into fruition," he added.
"Our long-term solution to addressing traffic, particularly on SLEX heading to the Alabang area, has finally been realized," Ang noted.
The northbound section provides a direct link to the elevated Skyway System for motorists coming from provinces like Laguna, Batangas, and Cavite, allowing them to bypass the Alabang viaduct, reducing congestion in the area.
From SLEX, motorists can go directly to their destinations like Makati, Manila, Quezon City up to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), via SMC's new Skyway Stage 3.
As in the case of the Skyway Stage 3 launched last January, SMC will not charge toll fees for the 4-km segment until further notice, Ang clarified.
The northbound section, which will have three lanes, will allow the additional capacity of 4,500 vehicles per hour.
Overall, the completed northbound section will cut travel time to NLEX to just 25 to 30 minutes from the usual two to three hours.