MANILA, Philippines — Here’s a bit of good news for motorists traveling north from south of Metro Manila: the Skyway ramp from Alabang-Zapote Road will be open during rush hours, from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. starting Saturday, Feb. 1.
Skyway O&M released this traffic guideline yesterday as it assured the public that construction activities for the Skyway Extension Project is in full swing to meet the December 2020 completion target.
The statement noted that from 9 a.m. to 5 a.m. the following day, when traffic volume is not so high, the ramp would be closed to traffic to give way to construction work.
Northbound motorists coming from Alabang-Zapote Road are advised to take the Filinvest entry to the South Luzon Expressway as an alternative.
The implementation of the scheme was agreed upon by Skyway and the Muntinlupa Traffic Management Bureau and Filinvest Alabang Inc. (FAI).
It was originally announced for implementation last December, but was suspended due to high traffic volume in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Skyway said that initially, motorists can expect slow-moving or heavy traffic, but as more people get used to the open ramp schedule, more ease in the traffic flow is expected.
The company said that foremen on the ground can make judgement calls on suspending construction work and reopening the lanes if traffic volume is extremely high.
“We understand that this is an inconvenience for many of our motorists, and we’d like to again ask for your patience and support. We monitor traffic 24/7 and we assure you we will do all we can to make traffic manageable,” said SMC president Ramon Ang.
“However, we all know that we have a big task at hand here, and that is to build a long-term solution to the traffic situation in the south. Your cooperation and continued observance of traffic rules and safety will be a big help towards realizing this goal,” he added.
Earlier, Skyway served advance notice to the public for the closure of one southbound lane of Skyway at-grade; the northbound lane of the West Service road; and the Alabang southbound exit and Bunye southbound exit toll plazas starting Feb. 16. The lane closures will last until March 30.
This is to give way to bored piling and column installation, which were also deferred from the original December 2019 schedule.
Skyway, the Muntinlupa city government and Filinvest likewise released alternate traffic schemes using primarily the Filinvest exit.