Skyway Stage 3 starts construction today; brace for even heavier traffic

OMINOUS SIGN. Looking more like a warning to motorists, a traffic advisory for the construction of the Skyway Stage 3 project starting on Monday night is displayed along Osmeña Highway in Manila. RICHARD A. REYES

Construction of the Skyway Stage 3 is scheduled to start Monday night, and is expected to slow down traffic for the next three years. The six-lane expressway to connect South Luzon Expressway in Buendia to North Luzon Expressway in Balintawak, Quezon City will be built by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and will start at 10pm.

Another project to start construction is the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway Phase 2 connecting the airport to the seaside gambling hub Entertainment City.

Malacañang spokesman Herminio Coloma on Sunday sought understanding from the public, citing in particular the traffic congestion that would be caused by the construction of the 14.8-kilometer Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 project.

“We call on our people to share in the burden of sacrifice and bear with the short-term inconvenience so we can build better roads that will ensure faster travel and more productive living in our highly congested National Capital Region,” Coloma said on Radyo ng Bayan.

“For the benefit of the people and to avoid adding to the traffic problem on Edsa,” the main rites marking the 28th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution would be held at the Palace grounds—not on the historic thoroughfare—on Feb. 25, he said.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) earlier projected that on Edsa alone, vehicular traffic could slow down to only 1 to 9 kilometers per hour.

With report by Christian V. Esguerra