3rd stage of M. Manila skyway project to start in April

A company led by conglomerate San Miguel Corp. and Indonesia’s Citra Group have set for Wednesday the groundbreaking for its northern and southern connector road expressway, dubbed Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3.

The project, to be undertaken by Citra Central Expressway Corp., is scheduled for completion by April 2017. It aims to cut travel time from North Luzon Expressway to South Luzon Expressway from almost two hours to 20 minutes, the Department of Transportation and Communications said in a statement.

“This is part of the DOTC’s ongoing program to upgrade our transportation infrastructure. It is expected to provide motorists with considerable relief from the traffic situation in Metro Manila,” said DOTC spokesman Michael Sagcal.

The project entails the construction of a 14.82-kilometer, mostly 6-lane elevated expressway, extending the present Skyway from Buendia in Makati to Balintawak in Quezon City. Construction will begin in April this year and will take 36 months to complete, the statement showed.

The DOTC added it would have four major components.

The Buendia-Plaza Dilao segment will be constructed from April 2014 to April 2016; the Plaza Dilao-Aurora Blvd. stretch will run from April 2014 to April 2017; the Aurora Blvd.-Quezon Ave. section will be constructed from April 2014 to April 2016, and the Quezon Ave.-Balintawak segment will be from April 2014 to December 2016.

Based on a recent study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, some P2.4 billion is lost every day due to Metro Manila traffic.  This project is intended to decongest traffic along Edsa, Quezon Ave., Araneta Ave., Nagtahan and other major thoroughfares by about 55,000 vehicles daily.