Philippine expressway system

[TheStranger]

Harbor Link segment 10 opening on the 26th (so in approximately 8-10 hours)

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/nlex-harbor-segment-10-open-000046370.html

[bing101]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shPPswvme8M

[TheStranger]

NLEX Harbor Link opening is in less than 20 or so hours:

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/02/26/nlex-harbor-link-opens-thursday-night/

[TheStranger]

NLEX Segment 10 Harbor Link now open!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ-KSf42kkM

[TheStranger]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-xVFqCVpLM

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/drive/cars-and-bikes/video/02/28/19/video-we-got-first-dibs-on-the-new-harbor-link-which-will-bring-you-from-manila-to-qc-in-15-minutes

[TheStranger]

Article on the opening of the new NLEX Harbor Link, along with maps informing people from various parts of Metro Manila on how to access the road:

https://www.topgear.com.ph/news/motoring-news/nlex-harbor-link-segment-10-open-a962-20190301

The two maps below in particular really highlight how much they are trying to encourage people to use the new expressway extension instead of staying on the shorter surface street routes:

[TheStranger]

Northbound video of the NLEX Segment 10/Harbor Link, from 5th Avenue in Caloocan.  Looks to be quite a few people using it southbound now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1h41d9BsaU

[TheStranger]

Another northbound video of NLEX Harbor Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Xy_dnQtgA

At 8:13 the video notes that the first advance signage for the junction with Mindanao Avenue and NLEX (the SmartConnect interchange) only appears a mere 500m/0.3 miles before the offramp!  Later in the video the lack of signage for the Harbor Link connections off NLEX is also noted.

[bing101]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUh3961urCg


Here is an update on the skyway gap in Manila.

[TheStranger]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKNFQDQc36A

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riYGZwObrvY

[TheStranger]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAtO3LqaA3k

[bing101]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0wuFn_rZTE

[bing101]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMJjvIMyDLE

[bing101]

 

A tour of Taft Ave

[TheStranger]

Subtle thing I noticed this week around Metro Manila:

At least on the Skyway, several of the exit names refer to streets that have since been renamed!  the "Buendia" exit off the Skyway goes to what was Buendia Avenue (and is still commonly called that) but is now Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati/Manila.  The "Sucat" exit goes to the former Sucat Road, now Arcadio Santos Avenue (though the new name is listed in a parenthetical)

Interesting contrast to how street renamings are handled in the US (in particular, the switchover from "Army Street" to "Cesar Chavez Street" in San Francisco in the 90s, and "Brooklyn Avenue" to "Cesar Chavez Avenue" in Los Angeles)

[TheStranger]

https://www.bworldonline.com/c5-south-link-phase-1-to-open-in-2nd-quarter/

C-5 interchange around Sucat Road (Santos Avenue) in Paranaque to be complete soon.  Also the article includes a local official stating that the entirety of the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 project to Balintawak should be open by the end of 2019 - pretty ambitious considering that the central portion near Santa Mesa still needs to have full road deck built from scratch!

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Took a Grab car ride down EDSA today and noticed how different control city usage is from the US.  While "Baclaran" (the district of Paranaque/Pasay near Mall of Asia) was listed as a southbound control as far north as the Cubao area of Quezon City, there was very little consistency in pull-through destinations (i.e. Makati not showing up until around Ortigas Center).  EDSA's odd mix of (at-grade) expressway & some interchanges isn't easy to mark out, yet it is noticeably worse in destination signage than the actual limited-access expressways like the Skyway and NLEX.

There was one bus station along the route named "Highway 54" which is a nod to the 1950s route designation of EDSA.

[bing101]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9WgbMSS28A


Skyway Update

[TheStranger]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKpW1GvbPQM

[Joe The Dragon]

how bad will the Balintawak end link be? at least freeway to freeway.

[TheStranger]

how bad will the Balintawak end link be? at least freeway to freeway.

The impression I have gotten is that the Skyway will continue just north of the NLEX Balintawak toll plaza and then link into the NLEX directly.  I'd have to look and see if there will be any ramp connection from the Skyway into the NLEX/EDSA Balintawak Interchange; the current setup for instance for Skyway drivers to access the Magallanes Interchange between SLEX/Osmena Highway & EDSA in Makati is essentially a ramp from the Skyway exiting onto northbound SLEX some distance before the actual SLEX/EDSA junction.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsJZfJ4mXIM

[TheStranger]

Long form article on how it took a couple of decades for the SCTEx expressway in Pampanga/Subic area to finally be completed:

https://www.autoindustriya.com/inside-man/sctex-built-against-all-odds.html

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I have quite a few photos of the NLEX Harbor Link that I'll try to get up either tonight or tomorrow.

[TheStranger]

My photos of the NLEX Harbor Link segment and some construction along 5th Avenue west of the current expressway terminus:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/csampang/albums/72157704521370192

[bing101]

[TheStranger]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko0H9K1niug