The 31-kilometer second stage of the Via Corta (Short Route) linking Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta won’t be ready in April, as previously announced.
The federal Communications and Transportation Ministry (SCT) has slapped an August finish date on the four-lane stretch between Compostela and the Nayarit beach town of Las Varas.
Last month, SCT Director Gerardo Ruiz Esparza announced that the next, much-anticipated stage of the toll road would be completed in time for the busy Easter period. The existing stretch of federal highway is characterized by repeated, dangerous curves that slow traffic.
According to Salvador Fernández Ayala, the SCT delegate in Jalisco, engineering and environmental issues are the reasons for the new delay.
The first stage of the highway, from Jala to Compostela, opened last year. Work on the final stage, from Las Varas to Vallarta, could begin in April if all the related permits are obtained, the SCT said.
Meanwhile, Fernández Ayala said a priority for 2018 will be the completion of the last stretch of the Guadalajara-Colima autopista. The 16.5-kilomter leg from Cuatro Caminos to Tuxpan is the only part of the highway lacking four lanes. Fernández Ayala hopes the work can be finished by July or August.