San Miguel Corp. opened two of the three lanes of the Skyway Extension project’s northbound section, with no toll for the 4-kilometer segment until further notice.
SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said the northbound section that covers four kilometers from Susana Heights to Sucat in Parañaque opened to Class 1 vehicles with RFID starting 4 p.m. on Sunday, following structural completion and asphalt-laying.
“The completion of the northbound section of Skyway Extension is testament to what the government and the private sector can achieve together. We are confident that by 2022, President Duterte’s promise of decongesting EDSA will come into fruition,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.
Ang announced motorists from the south could now use the Skyway Extension northbound section. “Our long-term solution to addressing traffic particularly on SLEX heading to the Alabang area has finally been realized. This would not have been possible without the support of our government, led by President Duterte and the ‘Build, Build, Build’ team, who have helped us in so many ways to complete this project,” he said.
“I’d like to thank, too, the local government of Muntinlupa and our private sector stakeholders, without whom we could not have gotten this done. Most of all, thank you to our motorists, for bearing with us. We are excited for you to finally be able to feel the benefits of this new project,” he said.
Ang said the northbound section provides a direct link to the elevated Skyway system for motorists coming from provinces like Laguna, Batangas and Cavite as it allows them to bypass the Alabang viaduct, reducing congestion in the area.
Motorists from SLEX can go directly to their destinations like Makati, Manila, Quezon City and North Luzon Expressway via SMC’s new Skyway Stage 3.
Ang said that like in the case of the Skyway Stage 3 that was launched in January, no toll would be charged for the 4-km segment yet.
“We are confident that this will further reduce congestion along EDSA and usher growth to provinces in Southern Luzon and beyond,” Ang said.
He said the three-lane northbound section, once fully opened, would allow the additional capacity of 4,500 vehicles per hour.
Ang said the completion of the northbound section would cut travel time to NLEX to just 25 to 30 minutes from the usual two to three hours.
“We are thankful to our workers and engineers for their commitment to complete the northbound section right on schedule and also our motorists for being patient regarding alternate traffic schemes. We also thank our partners in government and the private sector, without whom we would not be able to complete work on this vital infrastructure,” he said.
Ang also recognized the full cooperation and support of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Transportation, the local government of Muntinlupa and private companies such as Filinvest, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and Meralco.