Government officials at the inauguration of the C5 Link on Tuesday. PHOTO FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) opened on Tuesday the first section of the Cavitex C5 Southlink — a 2.2-kilometer (km.) flyover crossing South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) from Taguig and Pasay City.

The P1.6-billion flyover is accessible to vehicles from Fort Bonifacio, C.P. Garcia (C5 Road), Taguig, Parañaque, Las Piñas and Pasay, the DPWH said in a statement.

It should decongest traffic at Sales interchange near Villamor Airbase as well as the SLEX East and West Service Roads and EDSA, it added.

“This is a vital project that will cut travel time in half from the usual 1.5 hours spent to cross from Villamor Airbase, Pasay area to Taguig City. With three lanes in each direction of this flyover, passage of the anticipated 8,000 vehicles will be eased when they use the flyover starting 8:00 p.m. sharp tonight,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.

The C5 Link is a public-private partnership with Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. The Manny Pangilinan-led firm completed the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 in February 2019.

The DPWH said construction of the next 2.1-km section between Merville, Sucat and Las Piñas would start soon and eventually connect to the Paranaque side of the Cavitex tollway by 2022. (PressONE.ph)