The center lanes of a long stretch of Avenida Lopez Mateos, the vital thoroughfare running diagonally southwest to northeast from the southern periferico to Glorieta Colon, are currently a morass of construction as they undergo repaving.
The works, which stretch roughly from Avenida las Rosas in the north to Avenida Copernico a few kilometers to the south, began December 26. Zapopan Mayor Pablo Lemus, counseling patience to his care-bound constituency, claims the arterial will be back to normal within 90 days, which like most municipal timetable estimates is probably optimistic.
In addition to repaving, the 40-million-peso project will include replacement to signage and traffic lights. Crews will work around the clock in multiple shifts in an attempt to conclude the highly disruptive, herculean feat as quickly as possible.
Commuters should keep in mind that the whole of Lopez Mateos will not, in fact, be shut down to traffic; the side lanes (laterales) will remain open. The central lanes’ decommission will, however, cause a good deal of congestion, for which the Reporter recommends drivers use other major arterials nearby if possible, such as Vallarta, Mariano Otero and Lazaro Cardenas.