Skyway 3 free for public use for a month

The leadership of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) announced that the 18-kilometer, newly-completed Skyway 3 expressway will be toll-free for one entire month.

The much-anticipated soft opening of the Skyway 3 expressway is expected to happen on December, SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang said.

In his Facebook post, Ang expressed confidence that they would be able to open Skyway 3 by December and committed that it will be free— the entire 18-kilometer length of Skyway 3, from Buendia to North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)—to the public for the first month.

This is the tall order he made, despite continuous rains that slowed down finishing works.  

“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. 

 “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. 

For more than a year, SMC Buendia to Plaza Dilao section of Skyway 3 has been opened for free to the public.

The connector road that took six years to complete is meant to drastically improve travel time and traffic conditions in and around Metro Manila. 

Since June 1, when the government eased the lockdown level in the Metro to general community quarantine, SMC was able to resume construction operations after a two-month layoff period.

The said road will provide an alternative to EDSA, with a total of eight access points that traverse Makati, Manila, San Juan, and Quezon City. Among these access points include, Buendia, Plaza Dilao, Nagtahan, Aurora Blvd., Quezon Ave., Sgt. Rivera, Balintawak, and NLEX. 

Further, Ang expressed gratitude to the stakeholders and government partners that made the program into a reality. Privately funded and built by SMC, Skyway 3 was completed at no cost to government, with also no guarantees or subsidies.  

 Ang cited the long-term benefits to motorists and the economy. “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,” he explained.  

“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.” 

SMC is also eyeing to complete the northbound section of the Skyway extension project, which connect SLEX directly to Skyway from Susanna Heights in Muntinlupa, also by December.  

The SMC chief said that when completed, travel time from Susanna Heights through the Skyway System including Skyway 3, to NLEX-Balintawak toll plaza will only eat up 20 minutes while the Magallanes to Balintawak will be for just 15 minutes. The Balintawak to NAIA will also be just 15 minutes, and Valenzuela to Makati will only take 10 minutes.

Photo/s from San Miguel Corporation

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