SMC begins work on 1.2-km road linking Skyway 3 to NLEX Connector

Work has begun on a 1.2-kilometer road that will connect the the newly opened Skyway Stage 3 to the ongoing North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Connector project, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) said Thursday.

The NLEX Connector is an eight-kilometer expressway project that runs from C3 road all the way to Sta. Mesa, Manila.

In a statement, SMC president and COO Ramon Ang said the company began works for the link road between Skyway Stage 3 and NLEX Connector despite the pending right-of-way acquisition (ROW) negotiations that has delayed the construction of the vital link.

Ang said the company is “working on what’s workable,” in order to mitigate delays in ROW acquisition for the connection, located at the Nagtahan to Sta. Mesa areas in Manila.

The connection, part of the detailed engineering design of the Skyway Stage 3 project, can be completed within 24 months or less soon as the ROW issues with the landowners are resolved, he said.

“This connection is vital because it will link two major expressways, Skyway Stage 3 and the Metro Pacific Tollways’ connector road project --making accessibility, interoperability, and ease of travel even better for the public,” he said.

“We’re already mobilizing our contractors to start work in areas that are unobstructed, where we’re permitted to work. We’re also already committing the funds needed to buy the ROW properties, so hopefully, these issues will be resolved the soonest,” he added.

The alignment for the connection to the NLEX Connector project, which the Metro Pacific Tollways Group is building, was supposed to be built together with Section 2 of Skyway Stage 3 in the Nagtahan to Sta. Mesa area.

“However, about two years since we first worked on workable areas for Skyway 3, the ROW issue in section 2 threatened to stall the project. That is why we proposed to realign Skyway 3 along the San Juan River, so that the project could be completed faster and provide a solution to traffic—not cause more of it,” Ang said.

The SMC chief said the company signed a signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to show its commitment to complete the connection, even if the main alignment of the Skyway Stage was already moved to San Juan River.

“We basically already committed the budget for the ROW acquisition —we will pay for it— and we will complete this section within 24 months,” Ang said.

“Originally, this was supposed to be delivered December 2020, but it’s now pushed back. But we want to assure the public and government that we will do everything to complete it in less than 24 months, once we get the ROW,” he added. — Ted Cordero/BM, GMA News