Local motorists are bracing for traffic woes in navigating downtown Chapala as the first stage of the renovation of Avenida Francisco Madero kicked off this week.
On Thursday, August 4, Mayor Alejandro Aguirre dropped the starting flag as a bulldozer was revved up to demolish the street surface right outside City Hall.
Meanwhile, traffic officials started to direct traffic on detours that bypassed the thoroughfare’s south-bound lane to the opposite side between Calles López Cotilla and Morelos.
To create more space on that stretch, the fleet of cabs working out of the taxi stand located in front of the central plaza was moved around the corner to Morelos, the eastward extension of Avenida Hidalgo.
The initial stage of the project happening in the immediate vicinity of the city’s main intersection is projected for completion within three to four months, Aguirre announced. That’s assuming that messy rainy season weather won’t put a kink in the construction schedule.
The municipal Mobility Department has already put boots on the ground to facilitate traffic control.
The design, planning, execution and funding for the street rehab is in the hands of Jalisco’s Infrastructure and Public Works Department. Stage one is being undertaken with a budget of 17.5 million pesos. The entire project to refurbish the main drag running from the median strip just past the Municipal Coliseum to the waterfront Malecón is expected to take two years, with a total price tag upwards of 97 million pesos.