San Miguel Corporation (SMC) president Ramon S. Ang and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Mark Villar formally open Nagtahan northbound and southbound exit ramps of the new Skyway Stage 3 elevated expressway on Thursday. (Photo courtesy of SMC Media Affairs)
San Miguel Corp. has opened the Nagtahan northbound and southbound exit ramps of the new Skyway Stage 3 elevated expressway.
This allows motorists coming from the north and south bound lanes to get to Sta. Mesa and other parts of Manila.
“The concessionaire is taking advantage of the dry season to fast-track the completion of ramps as we want more motorists to reap the benefits of additional interchanges in between Buendia and NLEX (North Luzon Expressway),” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said in a statement.
Villar said the opening of all interchanges will further reduce traffic on major roads, specifically EDSA, Quezon Avenue, Araneta Avenue, Nagtahan, and Quirino Avenue.
“With the Nagtahan exits, motorists coming from both SLEX (South Luzon Expressway) and NLEX or other points of entry to the Skyway 3, can now opt to get to their destinations in Manila faster, without having to go through traffic, or contribute to traffic on major public roads and busy streets,” San Miguel President Ramon Ang said in the same statement.
The 18-kilometer Skyway Stage 3 is said to reduce travel time from Buendia to Balintawak in just 20 minutes, and Alabang to Balintawak to only about 30 minutes.
San Miguel, which fully funded Skyway Stage 3 project, officially opened the main alignment of the elevated expressway in January. However, due to right-of-way issues, delivery of some access ramps had to come a little later.
San Miguel recently opened the four-kilometer northbound portion of the Skyway Extension project from Susana Heights to Sucat, allowing travelers from provinces south of Metro Manila to enter the Skyway System without passing through the Alabang viaduct.
“With the recent opening of Skyway Extension project, motorists from Batangas, Laguna, Cavite now enjoy the convenience of seamless travel to many points in Metro Manila, all the way to NLEX,” Ang said.
The Skyway Stage 3 and Skyway Extension projects are part of the 38-kilometer elevated Skyway System, which aims to alleviate traffic jams along main highways such as EDSA and provide a smooth connection between South and North Luzon Expressways.
With the opening of the Nagtahan exits, operational access ramps of Skyway 3 now include:
- Northbound — Buendia (Zobel) entry
- Quirino Avenue exit
- Nagtahan exit
- Quezon Avenue exit
- Quezon Avenue entry
- A. Bonifacio exit and Balintawak exit
- Southbound — Balintawak entry
- Quezon Avenue exit
- Quezon Avenue entry
- E. Rodriguez exit
- Nagtahan exit
- Plaza Dilao entry
- Buendia (Zobel) exit H.B. Oledan