SMC-led group, Ayalas end Daang Hari row

The San Miguel-Citra consortium and Ayala groups have resolved their dispute on the proposed road linkage between South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) and the latter’s Daang Hari tollroad project, removing a key obstacle to the first infrastructure project under the government’s public-private partnership program.

Industry sources said the San Miguel-Citra group agreed to a compromise formula drawn up by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) on the SLEx-Daang Hari interchange, as well as to a traffic management system to be undertaken by the Ayala group.

To establish the road linkage with SLEx, the Ayala group needs to seal a tripartite agreement with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and SLEx concessionaire South Luzon Tollway Corp., controlled by the San Miguel-Citra consortium. The San MIguel-Citra group was critical of the new design proposed for the linkage.

SLTC had wanted Ayala to build a roundabout or “rotunda” at the Daang Hari-Susana Heights interchange.  But SLTC has been persuaded to allow a tunnel or undercrossing after the TRB restricted Ayala’s drilling of holes for only two lanes at a time. Counter-flow will also be allowed for SLEx motorists on the other side of the construction site.

One source noted that the traffic management plan that Ayala committed to was now “acceptable to all.”

For his part, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson endorsed the six-pronged program that addressed the concerns earlier raised by the San Miguel-Citra group.

In a letter to Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, who also chairs the TRB, Singson said his department had reviewed Ayala’s framework and found it “compliant with the requirements and responsive to the concerns raised by TRB, SLTC and Manila Toll Expressway Systems Inc. (MATES).

Singson reported to Abaya that the Ayala group had committed to the following:

A four-lane asphalt carriageway in each direction at all times during construction

A 60-kilometer-per-hour traffic speed is subject to safety considerations

Milder transitions and better visibility for the motorists at transition points

Minimal traffic inconvenience

Use of two lanes (detour road) for each direction in addition to the committed four-lane carriageway for traffic lane augmentation

Possibility of using the collector road as additional lane augmentation during construction of the tunnel.

Singson requested Abaya to likewise endorse the six-pronged program to SLTC and MATES for approval.

At the same time, Singson noted that Ayala’s design would accommodate a provision for the possible future fifth lane of the SLEx.

“We have likewise reviewed the same and concluded that the proposed design is the optimal solution,” he said.

Singson had appealed for Abaya’s assistance as TRB chair to resolve the issues concerning the tollroad, a four-kilometer arterial road that will laterally connect the parallel roadways of Daang Hari and SLEx. The link will facilitate travel between Cavite’s rapidly growing towns to Metro Manila.