To further mitigate the impact on traffic of the scheduled closure of one southbound lane of Skyway at-grade starting Feb. 16, Skyway management said it was temporarily designating the elevated Skyway for use by Class 1 vehicles only.
These are cars, SUVs, vans, pick-ups, and other private vehicle types, while buses and delivery vans will be assigned to the at-grade section.
The company said the new scheme was designed to make travel on the Skyway system more efficient, even as construction for the southbound section of the P10-billion Skyway Extension project switches to high gear.
The project, which will extend and connect the existing Skyway to the South Luzon Expressway near Susana Heights and the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, involves the construction of a three-lane, elevated northbound section and a two-lane, elevated southbound section.
It will bypass the Alabang viaduct and increase the Skyway’s capacity by 4,500 vehicles per hour northbound, and 3,000 vehicles per hour southbound, giving motorists from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and beyond, greater ease of travel to, or from, Metro Manila.
Under the new scheme:
• Buses and delivery vans coming from Makati, Manila, and Pasay bound for Alabang must take the Nichols southbound entry toll plaza to the at-grade Skyway.
• Buses and delivery vans from NAIA Expressway bound for Alabang must take Andrews Ave. going to Sales Road, then take Nichols southbound entry toll plaza to the at-grade Skyway.
• Buses and delivery vans from NAIA Expressway can also take the Magallanes northbound off-ramp, make a U-turn under the Magallanes interchange, then head to the Nichols southbound entry toll plaza to the at-grade Skyway.
Along with the closure of the third southbound lane of Skyway at-grade from Sucat to Filinvest, also scheduled for closure starting Feb. 16 are: The Alabang southbound and Bunye South Station exit toll plazas; a portion of the northbound West service road, and the Hillsborough off-ramp from the elevated Skyway to at-grade Skyway.
The lane closures will give way to bored piling and column installation activities in the area, which is expected to be completed by March 30.
Earlier, SMC, the city government of Muntinlupa, and Filinvest Alabang Inc. approved a traffic management plan that directs Alabang-bound vehicles to the Filinvest exit, where rerouting schemes to various destinations have been set.
“Yet again, we are asking for our motorists’ patience and support. We want to do everything to make traffic more manageable. Your cooperation and observance of traffic rules and the new traffic schemes, will be very critical,” said SMC president Ramon S. Ang.
“Traffic in Alabang has been a problem for all of us for many, many years. Today, we have a long-term solution. Let’s all work together to make it happen,” he said.