Skyway Stage 3 to open on January 14

MANILA, Philippines — The Skyway Stage 3 project will formally open on Jan. 14, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar announced yesterday.

San Miguel Corp. (SMC) earlier announced that motorists can use the Skyway Stage 3 for free for one month, beginning yesterday.

“Skyway Stage 3 is a critical component of the EDSA Decongestion Project – a master plan composed of 25 projects. When the project is fully opened on Jan. 14, at least 55,000 vehicles are expected to be diverted from EDSA, C5 and other major thoroughfares,” Villar said.

The Skyway Stage 3 project is an 18-kilometer elevated expressway starting from Buendia in Makati to North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Balintawak, Quezon City.

“Soon, travel time from NLEX to SLEX (South Luzon Expressway) will be reduced from two hours to only 30 minutes. Makati to Quezon City will only be 20 minutes away,” Villar said.

There will be seven available ramps along the expressway: the Buendia northbound on ramp and southbound off ramp, Plaza Dilao southbound on ramp, Quezon Avenue northbound and southbound on and off ramps and Balintawak northbound off ramp and southbound on ramp, according to Villar.

“The Skyway Stage 3 project will eventually connect to the NLEX Harbor Link, which opened this year, via the NLEX-SLEX Connector in 2021,” he said. “We are confident that by 2022, every city in Metro Manila will be accessible in a 20 to 30-minute timeframe.”

The NLEX-SLEX Connector is an eight-kilometer elevated four-lane toll expressway that traverses the NLEX southbound route from the end of Segment 10 along C3 Road in Caloocan to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila. It is expected to divert at least 35,000 motorists every day from EDSA and C5.

Invitation

In a Facebook post yesterday, SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang said while the firm is still completing some finishing works until the Skyway Stage 3 officially opens on Jan. 14, “I invite motorists to try it out. It’s free for a month, so that more can experience seamless travel between north and south, and to and from major cities like Makati, Manila and Quezon City.”

Motorists will only be able to use four of the Skyway Stage 3’s seven lanes until its official opening, when all seven lanes will be opened. – Jose Rodel Clapano