City officials this week lifted the closure order on the project, in force since February, after the constructors, Grupo Carso, agreed to build 58 “wildlife crossings” traversing the new highway to conserve the habitats of a number of native species, some of them endangered. The corridors will be underpass tunnels, with the exception of one overpass in a habitation zone of the jaguarundi, an endangered species.
The ten-billion-peso macrolibramiento will run from Zapotlanejo to El Arenal, bypassing Guadalajara in order to ease the transportation of cargo not destined for the city. It will skirt around the federally protected Primavera Forest. The wildlife crossings will be constructed in the area of Tlajomulco that links the forest to the Cerro Viejo hillside.
Tlajomulco Mayor Ismael del Toro said this will be the first time wildlife crossings have been built on highways in Mexico.
