San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said it expects to finish construction of the northbound section of the P10-billion Skyway Extension project by December.
Construction of the northbound section, which runs from Soldiers’ Hills area to the Sucat Mainline Toll Plaza, is now at an “accelerated pace” to meet the target date of completion, SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said in a statement.
“Because of the delays and restrictions brought on by the lockdown, we’ve had to make a lot of adjustments. But we are on track to deliver the entire northbound section of the Skyway Extension by end of this year,” Ang said.
Originally, the section had a target completion of July 2020, but this was pushed back due to the enhanced community quarantine imposed starting mid-March.
With the construction, SMC will have to close the northbound Skyway on-ramp section before Sucat near Amkor Anam starting August 24.
With the closure, northbound class 1 vehicles (ordinary cars) may continue to access the steel ramp towards the elevated section of the Skyway. All class 2 vehicles including buses and vans, meanwhile, should take the at-grade section, SMC said.
A new traffic scheme will be implemented to ease travel conditions during the closure of the northbound on-ramp.
Open 24/7 are steel ramp (for class 1 vehicles only), Hillsborough Southbound ramp, and Alabang-Zapote Southbound ramp.
The steel ramp Southbound will be open from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The Alabang-Zapote Northbound ramp will be open from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. the following day.
“To ensure responsiveness to actual traffic situations at any given time, Skyway said that the traffic scheme may be changed from time to time depending on traffic volume,” SMC said.
The company expects to complete the entire Skyway Extension project by the middle of next year.
Once fully completed, the project’s three new northbound lanes will be able to accommodate an additional 4,500 vehicles per hour. The two additional southbound lanes will be able accommodate an additional 3,000 vehicles per hour.
“When we open this northbound section, motorists will enjoy smoother and faster trips from Calamba going to Makati and other parts of Metro Manila. By improving traffic flow and reducing congestion, this project will also help in accelerating trade and tourism, particularly south of Metro Manila. That is something we need to further help our economy during this pandemic, and after it,” Ang said.
