Skyway Stage 3 to open today; toll fee waived for a month

Food, drinks and infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is opening today the 18-kilometer Skyway Stage 3 elevated expressway from Makati City to Quezon City in Metro Manila.

SMC said four lanes would be initially opened on Tuesday and all seven lanes usable by Jan. 14 next year.

Toll fees, earlier estima­ted at up to P90 for the entire stretch, would be waived for one month, the company said in a statement on Monday.

“While this is only a partial opening, given the scale and importance of this project, this is a very significant development,” SMC president Ramon S. Ang said.

While emphasizing that Skyway Stage 3 is a private sector project built and financed by SMC, Ang thanked the Duterte administration for supporting the project and settling major right of way issues that delayed its construction for years.

“We have the government of President Rodrigo Duterte to thank, for paving the way for the continuous construction of Skyway 3 over the past few years. We believe it will be key to our economic recovery after the pandemic,” Ang said.

The massive toll road was formally started during the Aquino administration in 2014.

The Skyway Stage 3 connects the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway, slashing travel time between Balintawak in Quezon City and Magallanes in Makati City to as little as 15 minutes from over two hours.

The toll road is expected to decongest highways such as Edsa and C5. But sustainable transport advocates said it could also create new traffic bottlenecks unless the government improved existing mass transport solutions.