The Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) would be cleared of around 50,000 vehicles each day once the Skyway Stage 3 opens in December, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said on Thursday.
“Over 50,000 vehicles per day will be decongested from Edsa. It is part of the Edsa decongestion program of President Rodrigo Duterte,” he said in a Laging Handa briefing.
Villar said the main line of the 18-kilometer elevated expressway crossing Manila, Quezon City, and Makati has been completed and they are just working on some finishing touches.
“We already completed main line. We’re just working in the finishing of safety devices, asphalt. Significantly, it’s done. Definitely, (it will be opened) before the end of the year, at the latest is December. Hopefully, sooner even before December but the latest is December,” he added.
Villar said the project, linking the northern and southern portion of Metro Manila, will reduce the usual two-hour travel time from the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to only 30 minutes.
On Tuesday, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang announced that the construction of the entire stretch of the infrastructure project has been finally completed.
The Skyway Stage 3 spans from Buendia in Makati to Balintawak in Quezon City.
It is composed of five sections: Buendia – Quirino Avenue – Nagtahan; Nagtahan – Aurora Blvd/Ramon Magsaysay Avenue; Ramon Magsaysay Avenue-Quezon Avenue; Quezon Avenue-Balintawak, and Balintawak, Quezon City-NLEX Footbridge.
Earlier this year, two-big ticket projects under the EDSA Decongestion Masterplan was also completed: the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10, a 5.58-km, six-lane divided elevated expressway utilizing the existing PNR railroad tracks connecting McArthur Highway, C-3 road in Caloocan and Malabon, and the NLEX Harbor Link R-10 Exit Ramp — a 2.6-km, four-lane elevated ramp which connects Caloocan, Malabon, and Valenzuela to Manila.
Other projects include the BGC-Ortigas Link Bridge, the NLEX SLEX Connector, the Pantaleon Estrella Bridge, the Binondo Intramuros Bridge, Lawton Avenue, Katipunan Extension, and the Laguna Lake Expressway, among others. (PNA)
