Stop-start GDL-PV ‘Short Route’ back on track?

March 1, Mexico’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) put into operation the second section of the 86.5-kilometer-long Las Varas-Puerto Vallarta toll road, adding another important step in finishing the “Via Corta” that will shorten the driving time between Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit.

pg5bThe opening of the 30.8-kilometer stretch connecting the “Entronque (junction) La Florida” with the La Cruz de Huanacaxtle/Bucerias junction comes barely four months after the ribbon was cut on a 23.6-kilometer section of the toll road between the “Entronque Capomo” (the Las Varas junction) and La Florida.

When the final 32.1-kilometer section to the Puerto Vallarta International Airport opens as projected in early 2024, the drive between Las Varas and Puerto Vallarta should be approximately 80 minutes faster than on Highway 200, according to SICT estimates.

Of course, travelers preferring to save money rather than time can still use the slower, free federal road.  The fees for the two new toll road sections are 171 and 233 pesos respectively. With these two stretches, the cost of taking all the toll roads from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta has risen to 1,063 pesos (six booths in total).

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