It passes through the highly urbanized areas of Caloocan, Malabon, Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Manila, Makati, Pasay, Taguig, Parañaque, and Muntinlupa, easing congestion on other major thoroughfares.

[6] Previously, Class 2 vehicles and PUVs were banned due to the construction of the SLEX Elevated Extension Project in Muntinlupa.

[12] From the North Luzon Expressway, the Skyway begins in Libis Baesa, Caloocan, about 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) south of the Balintawak toll plaza.

[13] It enters Quezon City and after rising above the Balintawak Interchange (where it crosses EDSA), it turns east towards Circumferential Road 3 (C-3), particularly Sgt.

There, it will meet the 1.2-kilometer (0.75 mi) elevated connecting road to the NLEX Connector in Santa Mesa that will branch off parallel to the Philippine National Railways (PNR) tracks.

[14] The main expressway turns east onto Tomas Claudio Street (Paco–Santa Mesa Road) and Nagtahan Link Bridge towards Quirino Avenue (C-2).

After its interchange with NAIAX, it descends to ground level because of height restrictions on structures near Ninoy Aquino International Airport and parallels SLEX and the PNR tracks at the Pasay–Taguig boundary.

At the Sucat Exit, the Skyway rises above the east end of Dr. A. Santos Avenue and descends as it approaches the main toll plaza in Cupang, Muntinlupa.

In 1992, the government proposed the idea of building an elevated expressway from Quirino Avenue in Manila to Alabang, Muntinlupa, spanning 20 kilometers (12 mi).

This project would have been a build–operate–transfer (BOT) scheme, and at the time of its development, Parañaque Representative Roilo Golez won the support of many congressmen to make a proposal to relieve congestion on the existing South Luzon Expressway with a segment between Magallanes and Alabang.

[19][20] In December 1992, House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. sought to build second-storey highways in Metro Manila to ease traffic congestion.

[21] In 1993, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) conducted a study on the proposed urban expressway system in Metro Manila.

Through that agreement, CITRA committed to finance and undertake the preparation, updating, and revalidation of previous studies on the construction, operation, and maintenance of the projects.

[24] CITRA, a Jakarta-based investor, owned by Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana (a daughter of Indonesian President Suharto), signed a Supplemental Toll Operation Agreement (STOA) in November 1995 with the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) as a grantor and the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) as operator.

[38] The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received an unsolicited proposal to construct a Skyway extension from San Miguel Corporation-backed Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corporation (CMMTC), which would run from Buendia (Gil Puyat), Makati to Balintawak, Quezon City.

[2] The new segment raised the possibility of further northward expansion, eventually realized as the NALEX (Northern Access Link Expressway).

The planned Toll Plazas A and B were to be located in San Andres, north of the Buendia (Gil Puyat) southbound exit ramp.

On August 18, 2019, a coping beam collapsed on vehicles on the North Luzon Expressway, delaying southbound traffic; no injuries were reported.

[49] A February 1, 2020 fire at the San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation plastic plant in Pandacan caused a 300-meter (980 ft) portion of Stage 3 to collapse, creating a long delay of the project.

[50] Fire damage required reconstruction of pierheads and replacement of the burnt girders, delaying the 2020 opening of the segment from April to November.

[2] On October 13, 2020, San Miguel Corporation announced the final concrete pouring and completion of Skyway Stage 3.

[62][63] Work on the elevated 1.2-kilometer (0.75 mi) link connecting the Skyway with the NLEX Connector began on January 28, 2021, after delays due to right of way issues.

The SLEX Elevated Extension is the first phase of the corporation's three-year expansion project of all toll roads in southern Metro Manila to ease traffic congestion.

SOMCO controls the Skyway three main operational functions: traffic safety and management, maintenance, and toll collection.

The concessionaire of Stages 1 and 2 (known as the South Metro Manila Skyway Project), including the at-grade portion of the South Luzon Expressway from Magallanes to Alabang, and SLEX Elevated Extension is SMC Skyway Corporation (formerly Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corporation, or CMMTC).

The project aims to provide an alternate route to EDSA, C-5, and other major roads for motorists coming from Rizal and the Calabarzon area to ease traffic congestion.

[91] According to San Miguel Corporation president and COO Ramon Ang, the company began considering bus rapid transit on the Skyway in 2017.

It aims to make commutes safer and more convenient, maximizing the benefits of the elevated expressway in diverting vehicles from other roads.

The Skyway uses the RFID-based Autosweep electronic toll collection (ETC) system used on the expressways by San Miguel Tollways.

[101] The under-construction NLEX Connector is expected to compensate for the restriction, which will bypass the majority of Stage 3 to connect to South Skyway.