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Skyway Stage 3 connects SLEX with NLEX, serving as alternative to EDSA, with eight access points traversing Makati, Manila, San Juan, and Quezon City.
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Free use of whole length of expressway from Buendia to North Luzon Expressway.
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Travel time from SLEX to NLEX will be cut to 30 minutes from 2 hours. Makati to Quezon City will only be 20 minutes away.
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Goods transport from north and south Luzon will be easier and faster.
Motorists can use the entire 18-kilometer (km) Skyway Stage 3, which links South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), toll-free for a month when it soft-opens in December, according to concessionaire San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said the company is confident about the opening of the newly completed Skyway 3 by December, and committed the free use of the whole length of the expressway from Buendia to North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).
“We’re very proud and excited about this project, because it will truly make a big difference to so many people’s lives—especially with our economy slowly opening up and with more vehicles coming back to our roads,” Ang said in a statement.
READ: Skyway Stage 3 linking NLEX and SLEX now complete
“While we’re still doing a few finishing works, we want the public to be able to use Skyway 3 already and benefit from the convenience and ease of travel that it will bring. We have all waited long for this project, so this is the best way we can welcome everyone, by making Skyway 3 free for one month,” he added.
Earlier Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said the opening of Skyway Stage 3 will mean travel time from SLEX to NLEX will be reduced from 2 hours to only 30 minutes. “Makati to Quezon City will only be 20 minutes away,” he added.
Over a year ago, SMC also partially opened for public use the Buendia to Plaza Dilao section of Skyway Stage 3, which remains open and free to use by the public.
Skyway Stage 3, which took six years to complete due to numerous challenges, including right-of-way issues and major changes to its design and alignment, is seen to greatly improve travel times and traffic conditions in and around Metro Manila.
Seamlessly connecting SLEX with NLEX, it will also serve as an alternative to EDSA, with its eight access points that traverse Makati, Manila, San Juan, and Quezon City.
These access points include Buendia, Plaza Dilao, Nagtahan, Aurora Blvd., Quezon Ave., Sgt. Rivera, Balintawak, and NLEX.
The company noted that Skyway 3, which was privately funded and built by SMC, was completed at no cost to government, and with no guarantees or subsidies.
“With Skyway 3, we will improve the daily commutes and lives of so many Filipinos. We will lessen their time spent in traffic on the road, we can increase both their productivity and time spent with their families,” Ang said.
“Apart from this, the transportation of goods from north and south Luzon will also be so much easier, faster, and more efficient. This will be a big boost to our economy and support growth throughout the regions,” he added.
After completing the whole Skyway 3 by end of September and ahead of the October 31 deadline, SMC also announced it is targeting to deliver the northbound section of the Skyway extension project, which will connect SLEX directly to Skyway from Susanna Heights in Muntinlupa, by December.
With this, travel from Susanna Heights via the Skyway system, including Skyway Stage 3, all the way to the Balintawak toll plaza of the NLEX will only take 20 minutes, Ang said.
Travel time from Magallanes to Balintawak, meanwhile, will be just 15 minutes; Balintawak to Ninoy Aquino International Airport just 15 minutes; and Valenzuela to Makati only 10 minutes.
