South Luzon Expressway

Infobox road
marker_

highway_name = South Luzon Expressway
alternate_name = formerly South Superhighway
Pres. Sergio Osmeña Highway (Paco to Alabang)
Dr. Jose P. Rizal Superhighway (Alabang to Calamba)
length_km = 75.8
length_round = 1
junction = Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (C-4) in Makati
direction = North/South
starting_terminus= President E. Quirino Ave. (C-2) in Manila
ending_terminus = Maharlika Highway in Calamba City

The South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) or (SLE), also called South Superhighway (SSH), is a network of two expressways that connects Metro Manila with the provinces of the CALABARZON region in the Philippines. The first expressway is operated jointly by Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) and Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corporation (CMMTC), while the second expressway is solely operated by PNCC through its South Luzon Tollways Division.Radial Road 3 is the alternate name of the SLEx.

It starts in Manila's Paco District at President Elpidio Quirino Avenue and ends in Calamba in the province of Laguna, 62 kilometers south of Manila. It is now being connected to STAR Tollway so that it will end in Batangas City. Southward, the SLEX passes through the following cities and municipalities: Manila, Makati, Pasay, Parañaque and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila, San Pedro and Biñan in Laguna, Carmona in Cavite, then Biñan (again), Santa Rosa City, Cabuyao and Calamba City in Laguna. It is now being connected to STAR Tollway therefore increasing its size by 26 km.

Overview

The first expressway in the network, the Metro Manila Skyway system, starts at the intersection of the expressway with Buendia Avenue in Makati and connects with the second expressway in network, the South Luzon Expressway, in Alabang, Muntinlupa. The South Luzon Expressway then traverses the western part of Laguna province and ends in Calamba. The third expressway in the network, STAR Tollway, is currently not connected to the second expressway.

Over the years, the areas surrounding the South Luzon Expressway, particularly southern Metro Manila and those areas within Laguna province, have seen massive industrialization and urbanization, especially with the influx of local and foreign investment into the area and the migration of Filipinos from different parts of the Philippines. Such development caused heavy traffic to pour into the SLEx, causing massive traffic jams in parts of the expressway, especially during Mondays, Fridays and the morning and evening rush hour.

To decongest traffic at the SLEX, the Philippine Government entered a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme agreement with Indonesian construction firm PT Citra for the rehabilitation of parts of the expressway and the construction of the Metro Manila Skyway (stage 1), an elevated North-South tollway that will pass over the South Luzon Expressway, some areas of Metro Manila and eventually into the North Luzon Expressway, which aims to interconnect the two expressways and to decongest traffic in many areas of Metro Manila.

Portions of the SLEX

From the northern end of the SLEX in Paco to Muntinlupa City, the expressway is officially named "President Sergio Osmeña, Sr. Highway" after one of the former presidents. The section is dead straight from Bicutan to Alabang in Muntinlupa and also straight from Bicutan to its end in Paco. The SLEX is also officially designated as "Radial Road 3" or R-3 in the roadway system of Metro Manila.

The Southern Luzon portion of the SLEX, from the edge of Muntinlupa to Calamba City is officially called "Dr. Jose P. Rizal Highway", named after the country's national hero. In June 2005, the government renamed the SLEX Extension, the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR Tollway) to "Apolinario Mabini Superhighway".

The Skyway

Due to increasing vehicles congesting on the SLEX within Metro Manila, Metro Manila Skyway was constructed as a direct, non-stop route from Bicutan in Parañaque to Buendia Avenue in Makati, bypassing many of the interchanges of the SLEX, such as those with the C-5 near Fort Bonifacio and EDSA. The ends of Skyway at Bicutan is temporary; ramps have been built to divert traffic on the sides of the freeway. In 2007, constuction started to extend the Skyway towards the Alabang Exit in Muntinlupa City.

LEX Redevelopment

Rehabilitation

* The SLEX Upgrading and Rehabilitation Project already started since May 2006 by PNCC and MTD Capital, BHD of Malaysia (MTD Manila Expressway Corporation) joint venture, called South Luzon Tollway Corporation (SLTC), as the main proponents of the said project. In this project, the expressway will undergo a major rehabilitation similar to the recently - rehabilitated North Luzon Expressway and will eventually connect with its Batangas section, the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, also known as the STAR Tollway. Phase 1 of the expressway project includes the retrofitting and widening of the old Alabang Viaduct (Toll Road 1), the rehabilitation and widening of the Alabang-Calamba segment (Toll Road 2), construction of the missing tollway link (Calamba-Santo Tomas segment) (Toll Road 3) and the integration of the Skyway, South Luzon Expressway and the STAR Expressway as a single toll road. Phase 2 involves the rehabilitation of the Santo Tomas-Lipa segment and the extension of the expressway to Batangas City. Phase 3 involves another extension from Santo Tomas to Lucena City in Quezon. After the project has completed, SLTC will takeover the management and operations of the South Luzon Expressway and STAR.

*The southbound portion of the Alabang Viaduct is expected to be finished by mid-June 2008 and all of Alabang Viaduct is expected to be finished before the end of 2008.

*As of May 2008, the rehabilitation project is more than 50% complete. It is expected that rehabilitation will be finished by March 2009.

*The STAR Tollway extension finished its extension project since the beginning of 2008 and is now operational from Lipa exit to Balagtas Exit.

*Widening of the tollway from Calamba Exit to Alabang Exit including bridges and road upgrading and improvement of the SLEX's facilities. It is currently on going since 2006. It is also adding up additional overpasses to the Skyway System to accommodate the opening of NAIA 3 and linking of the STAR Tollway to SLEX. The ground at the ending of SLEX (The circular road to Calamba via National Highway) is reconstructed and the ground is being cleared for the continuation of the SLEX to STAR Tollway.

* When the rehabilitation project is complete, it is said that the expressway will have qualities similar to that of a modern Malaysian expressway. Also, the driving time from Manila to the Port of Batangas in Batangas City will be reduced from four hours to roughly one and a half hour.

Technical specifications

* Name: South Luzon Expressway (Skyway to STAR)
* Concession Holder: Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corporation, Philippine National Construction Corporation and STAR Infrastructure Development Corporation (South Luzon Tollways Corporation will takeover the operations and management starting in November 2008)
* Operator: Skyway Operations and Maintenance Corporation, PNCC South Luzon Tollways Division and STAR Infrastructure Development Corporation (Manila Toll Expressway Systems, Incorporated will be the operator of the expressway after parent company South Luzon Tollway Corporation takeovers the operation and management from SOMCo, PNCC-SLTD and STAR-IDC)
* Length: 77 km
* Concession starting date: March 1977 (SLTC started its concession since August 2006)
* Concession ending date: March 2007 (SLTC will end its concession in March 2038)
* Highway exits: 23
* Toll plazas: 2
* Rest and Service Areas: 7
* Minimum Height Clearance on Underpasses: 4.27m (14')

Tolls

See also

*Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, its extension from Santo Tomas, Batangas to Batangas City.
*Metro Manila Skyway its expressway on the top from Makati City to Paranaque City.
*North Luzon Expressway, its sister expressway
*Bulacan-Rizal-Manila-Cavite Regional Expressway, its future junction
*Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, its major junction
*Manila, the expressway's first city from north.
*Major Roads in Metro Manila
*Transportation in the Philippines
*Philippine National Construction Corporation, its another mother company

External links

* [http://www.mtdsltc.com South Luzon Tollways Corporation]