Great news for motorists. While much of Metro Manila was in a somnolent state for most of last year because of the quarantine restrictions that kept the majority of the population indoors, a relatively unnoticed transformation has been going on in our motorways. I am talking about the new Skyway 3 roadway that was just inaugurated last month (January 2021) and had just slipped by our radar as many of us are still cooped up in our homes or whose travel has been somewhat limited to our immediate environs. But lo and behold, for the harried car driver or commercial/ truck driver or daily commuter who habitually goes through the traffic calvary which is what EDSA has become and whose frazzled nerves have become endemic, relief is at hand — as the Skyway from Alabang, Muntinlupa has now extended its reach towards Balintawak, Caloocan making a journey that usually takes 3-hours at a minimum using EDSA Ave., now a breezy 30-minute at most.
Take it from an ex-harried colleague of mine, Susan de Guzman, whose experience with the new Skyway 3 has led to her enthusiastic remarks on her Facebook account, “Unexpectedly, got to try the newly opened segment of the Skyway earlier when the Grab driver said we could pass that way to cut travel time from Quezon City to Makati. True enough, it took us only around 20 minutes to cover the distance of the ramp running from Balintawak to Buendia. Wheeee!.” De Guzman, who commutes from Novaliches to her office in Pasay was all praise to this new road development as she says “traffic was very light on the Skyway itself that I made it to Pasay just a little over an hour from Novaliches — a trip that would ordinarily take two to three hours. Give it a try if you’re going a similar route; no toll fee is being charged yet while it’s on its soft opening.”
And that toll-free access to Skyway remains as this column is being written. Press reports indicated that, “San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said toll will remain waived at Skyway 3 while the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) deliberates on the proposed rates. We are just waiting for the TRB, SMC president Ramon Ang said. SMC opened the 18-kilometer expressway on Dec. 29 but waived the toll for a month. It cannot charge toll until the TRB approves the final rates, which can cost up to P274 from Buendia in Makati to the North Luzon Expressway in Quezon City.” But come to think of it, the economics of paying the toll comes close to what a motorist would spend in gasoline costs for a 3-hour stop and go traffic crawl along Edsa. Add the stress and frazzled nerves of Edsa and you’ll see that the Skyway would indeed be advantageous.
The newly inaugurated Skyway 3 is over 18 kilometers long and a history that spans multiple administrations, the Skyway Stage 3 links the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway, significantly reducing travel time for motorists within key parts of Metro Manila. With the full opening of all seven lanes of Skyway Stage 3 last month, Ang said the toll road can handle 200,000 vehicles per day or half of the volume of Edsa, one of Metro Manila’s busiest highways. “This will greatly contribute to decongesting Metro Manila traffic,” Ang said in a press report.
Built and financed by SMC, the Skyway Stage 3 was planned during the Arroyo administration and formally started during the Aquino administration in 2014. It faced a myriad of obstacles—both political and engineering—including familiar issues such as right-of-way. SMC said it played an active role in securing right-of-way, buying up properties along the project’s alignment. Moreover, it paid for the reconstruction of three bridges: San Juan Bridge, Concordia Bridge, and Sevilla Bridge. These bridges were located near the project’s path and had to be demolished. Ang also thanked the Duterte administration and the economic team for the “significant role in settling right-of-way issues that delayed the massive infrastructure project for years.”
“This is a game-changer for our economy, especially now that we are still dealing with the pandemic. By providing seamless access between north and south, we also unlock the true potential of our provinces,” Ang said. SMC also operates the South Luzon Expressway, Metro Manila Skyway, Naia Expressway, Star Tollway, and Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union Expressway. Kudos then for the vision and steadfastness that built Skyway 3 and my gratitude to all the men and women behind this project.