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Last Updated on December 20, 2021 by Lamudi
Aside from speeding up mobility from city to city, the construction of the South East Metro Manila Expressway will loosen up clogged arterial roads in the capital particularly in EDSA, C5, Ortigas Avenue, Ortigas Avenue Extension, BGC and The Fort area, and developing cities like Taytay, San Mateo, Antipolo, and Rizal.
In one of Dan Brown’s books, the highly acclaimed novelist mentioned Metro Manila and described it as the “Gates of Hell,” a severe nonetheless fitting description attributed to the horrendous traffic congestion mercilessly torturing motorists and commuters who have the audacity to enter and blaze through the main thoroughfares and highways of the city. Metro Manila has since then been immortalized in a literary piece but not in a way that would make Filipinos proud. The social commentary from the author, whose penned bestselling books turned into box-office movies, may have tarnished the international image of the Philippines but it paved the way for the government to take concrete actions to resolve growing traffic woes.
Countless measures have been and are still being taken like road re-blocking, road widening, phasing out old jeepneys, barring provincial buses, modifying the number coding scheme, and so on. We always hear about them from the news but still the notorious heavy traffic festers like plague, eating up large chunks of time and reducing our productivity as a nation. However, there is still something to be hopeful about, as long-term solutions are now in the works with the provisions made by the present administration with its “Build, Build, Build” program. Despite side-by-side antagonism from leftist movements and the opposition, economists and political analysts find this move a positive step toward modernization, so much so that they even touted this period as the country’s “Golden Age of Infrastructure”.
This could not be any truer as almost eight trillion pesos of the national budget is approved to be allocated to the construction of infrastructure and the modernization of public transportation alone. One manifestation of this is seen in the construction of the South East Metro Manila Expressway (SEMME), more commonly referred to as the Circumferential Road 6 or C6 Expressway.
Experts agree that a better traffic flow is more or less inevitable with the birth of C6. The Department of Transportation notes that the project will provide an indispensable alternate route that will diversify the road networks in Metro Manila. The construction of the 34-kilometer expressway spearheaded by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and its subsidiaries will commence this coming April with an expected public opening in 2020.
The new toll road will link FTI (Food Terminal Inc.) in Taguig to Batasan Complex in Quezon City and be eventually connected to North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). At present, travelling between Quezon City and Taguig normally consumes a minimum of an hour and a half according to Google Maps but with the construction of C6, travel time will be reduced to only 35 minutes.
In this article, Lamudi identifies areas that will benefit the most in the construction of C6 once the project is completed.
Bonifacio Global City/The Fort/McKinley Hill
Since the expressway will start at the south connecting itself to the existing Skyway in Bicutan, it is more than fitting for Taguig to be discussed first. Aside from promoting mobility and connectivity among cities, the expressway will give Taguig an added appeal. As it is already a prime location in the metropolis housing top-class business districts like Bonifacio Global City, The Fort, and McKinley Hill, the city will flourish even further and attract more people to take up residence in its arms. It is also important to take note that the accessibility of Taguig to the international and domestic airports will be enhanced with the construction of C6.
Makati Central Business District
Makati is deemed a primary traffic generator among the cities in the metropolitan region because of its nature as a central business district. A high frequency of vehicular traffic clogs the main gateways of the city because of its relatively large population and predominantly service-oriented economy. Traffic congestion within the city is even more compounded by the fact that major expressways exist but they are not interconnected. The construction of C6 seems to be the most effective way in addressing such mobility turmoil as this expressway will connect itself to the existing Skyway and eventually to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) via Balagtas in Bulacan. The large volume of vehicles passing EDSA daily will also be reduced as motorists and commuters can easily choose a less congested path and pass through the alternate route that C6 will provide. Train stations will probably also be decongested as the expressway will have a bearing in the commuting habit of people; they just might opt for buses and FX vans with routes going to their destination.
Ortigas Avenue and Ortigas Avenue Extension
Commuters and motorists coming from Quezon City and towns of Rizal, Antipolo, and San Mateo, and also people from the southern cities of Paranaque, Las Pinas, and Muntinlupa who hold jobs and businesses in Ortigas Business District will greatly benefit in the construction of C6, primarily because the expressway will aid them to escape the morning rush and rush hour prevalent in C5 and EDSA. C6 will provide those working in Ortigas Business District with an alternative route that is much easier to navigate and can absolve them from the agony of heavy traffic.
Taytay, Antipolo, and San Mateo (Rizal)
The expressway will traverse developing cities Taytay, Antipolo and San Mateo and consequently spur a rapid urbanization in these areas. The construction and improvement of infrastructure and road networks will disperse droves of people and various industries from the urban centers of Metro Manila to the outskirts of the city. Also, as people from the urban centers are ushered out to the neighboring rural towns, value of real estate properties in developing cities like Taytay, Antipolo, and San Mateo will eventually increase as the cities will expand its economic activities and attract more business opportunities.
Main image via Depositphotos