SMC opens Quirino exit of Skyway 3

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has opened the southbound Quirino exit of the Skyway Stage 3 elevated expressway to class one vehicles, improving accessibility between Quezon City and Manila.

SMC said the Skyway Stage 3 Quirino southbound exit would allow motorists coming from Balintawak and Quezon Avenue to reach Manila in less than 20 minutes from 1.5 hours without traffic.

“With more private vehicles diverted to Skyway Stage 3 on their way back from the North Luzon Expressway or coming from Quezon Avenue to Manila, traffic on major public roads and streets usually utilized as short cuts or alternate routes will be a thing of the past,” SMC president Ramon Ang said yesterday.

“This will redound to relief from congestion and faster and easier commutes on major thoroughfares for many of our countrymen,” Ang added.

SMC, which fully funded and built the Skyway Stage 3, said the expressway now has 15 operational ramps.

The Skyway Stage 3, which was formally opened in January, connects Buendia to Balintawak and vice versa.

Together with Skyway 1 and 2, the Skyway system is a 38-kilometer elevated expressway with 36 on-and off-ramp access points that improves accessibility, transportation and traffic conditions throughout Metro Manila.

“We remain dedicated to providing convenient and seamless travel for motorists to help decongest Metro Manila and enable growth in all areas that we reach,” Ang said.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, who led the opening of the Quirino southbound exit together with Ang, said the full completion of Skyway Stage 3 would divert at least 75,000 vehicles away from EDSA or C-5.

“This is a realization of President Duterte’s promise to decongest EDSA. Skyway Stage 3 is proof that the private sector and the government can work together toward a unified solution,” Villar said.