By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is expediting work on the Skyway Extension project that will make the Skyway System even more accessible to motorists from the south as the company announced road closures to usher construction works at the southbound section starting midnight on February 20.
Skyway management said that as work on the southbound section is about to enter the advanced phase, motorists are advised to take alternative routes, with the closure of the Alabang southbound exit toll plaza, beside the Alabang viaduct.
The alternative routes are as follows:
- Class 1 headed to Alabang or Alabang-Zapote Rd. may take Filinvest Exit Toll Plaza towards their destination.
- Class 1, 2 and 3 vehicles bound for Alabang, Putatan, and National Road may take the Susana Exit Toll Plaza, turn right at Susana Heights Ave., and turn either left or right on the National Road to their respective destinations.
Motorists can also expect heavy traffic in the area because of the construction work, which will include the installation of girders, coping beams, and pre-cast slabs.
“We’re again appealing for patience and understanding from our motorists in the south and residents in the area, for any delays that they may experience, as we work to complete the Skyway Extension. We’ve put in place measures to help mitigate the impact on you and to ensure safety,” said SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang.
“There is no way of getting around this key stage in construction. We really have to do it. It will be a temporary inconvenience, but I promise you, the benefits–eliminating traffic and providing seamless travel–will be well worth it,” said San Miguel Corporation president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang.
The Skyway Extension project is a key feature of the 38-kilometer elevated Skyway system. The Skyway Extension project extends the elevated expressway from Skyway Main Line Toll Plaza in Sucat, Paranaque to Susana Heights at SLEX and back, providing motorists a direct connection to Skyway 1 and 2 and SMC’s recently opened Skyway Stage 3. It will add three lanes going north and two lanes going south.
Once completed, the Skyway Extension will make travel to and from southern Metro Manila and southern Luzon provinces much faster and more convenient, especially with the new Skyway Stage 3 from Buendia, Makati to the North Luzon Expressway, providing seamless connection to the north.
“Today, our motorists are already benefiting from travel from Alabang to Balintawak via Skyway 1,2, and 3. Once the Skyway Extension is completed, we will be extending access a little farther down Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX), near the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway. With this, motorists coming from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas can bypass Alabang–and avoid experiencing or contributing to traffic there–and go straight to their destinations in Makati, Manila, San Juan, Quezon City, all the way to NLEX,” said Ang.
“Another major benefit of this project will be the decongestion of traffic along major roads to Muntinlupa, Las Pinas, and Cavite. Traffic in areas such as the Alabang-Zapote Road and other roads feeding into SLEX has grown a lot in the past decades, because of more residential and industrial developments. With Skyway Extension’s increased capacity, traffic in these areas will ease and flow more freely,” he added.