Forget the high rises, industrial parks, hotels and office buildings going up. A multitude of city, state and federally financed construction projects for the metro area worth billions of pesos are either already in progress or programed to begin in 2015, and may cause mayhem to your daily routine.
–Avenida Revolucion and Rio Nilo in Tlaquepaque is looking at partial closing due to ongoing construction of line three of the Tren Ligero. The average 7,000 cars per hour that pass through that intersection are going to back up traffic for blocks as they seek exit through side streets. Public transportation will have it’s own lane open. Residents in the area were told that the project would last three years.
Six months into the project, work along the new line’s route is two months behind schedule as only two shifts of construction workers are being presently employed, instead of the original three that were considered.
–The Peribus, similar to the MetroBus, but located along the Periferico (metro ring road) will begin construction in the Spring with a 100-million peso budget and is expected to be concluded in 2016.
–Cycle paths throughout the metro area and work on more pedestrian-friendly 30-KPH zones in metro city centers will see 49 million and 40 million pesos spent respectively in 2015.
–Zapopan is going to finish the lateral roads and turnoffs at the Omnilife stadium between Avenidas Vallarta and Guadalupe. According to the public works chief no road closures would be necessary to complete the 29-million peso project.
–Zapopan will also pony up 40 million pesos to finish the Centro Cultural Constitucion, beginning in March. This will not include building the originally planned 350-person auditorium that is to showcase that city’s chorus and youth orchestra. Construction on the facility began in 2012, but has been on hold for a year due to lack of funding. Expected to be completed sometime in the summer are the music school, library, civil registry and city services offices.
–Avenida Vallarta will get a facelift from Los Cubos to the Periferico beginning Easter Week. The central lanes will get a cement finish and the lateral lanes will be repaved. This project is budgeted at 45 million pesos and should take three months.
–Now that the central lanes of Avenida Lopez Mateos have been reopened after being covered with hydraulic concrete, work on the lateral lanes is being held up until drainage concerns are dealt with. Another project at Lopez Mateos and Periferico involves the construction of tunnels to allow traffic to more seamlessly merge. 110 million pesos is budgeted.
–Mercado Corona still only looks like a hole in the ground, but the project is actually 20-percent complete with the floor and 52 pillars finished. This week work on the surface will begin. The parking lot is due to be ready in March. Entrance will be via Calle Independencia. The market above is scheduled for a September opening.
–A 50-million peso tunnel is planned for downtown Guadalajara on Avenida Hidalgo between calles Santa Monica and Contreras Medellin has businesses in the area up in arms.
–The second stage of a 25-million peso underpass at Avenida Federalismo at Periferico is in the works for this year.
–Another 80 million pesos will be spent on the second stage of the Santa Esther overpass at Periferico. Work is already under way and expected to be finished in May.
–A 20-million dollar water treatment plant is on tap for Parque Solidaridad, which lies along Avenida Patria between Guadalajara and Tonala. The 110 hectare park is one of the largest in Latin America and is as important to Guadalajara’s air quality as Parque Metropolitano and Bosque los Colomos. Other metro parks to get a face lift are Montenegro (20 million pesos) on the highway to Chapala in El Salto and a lineal park off Avenida Patria Sur in Guadalalajara (30 million pesos).
–A 49-million peso revamp for the Atemajac and Santa Catalina canals in the Juan de la Barrera zone in Tlaquepaque is planned. This area sustained major flooding last September with 800 homes affected.
–At Alcalde and Periferico major construction has just finished up after a lag due to drainage work, although a few details like plants and cleanup remain. The total price tag went from a projected 105 to 162 million pesos.
–A 13-million peso project will connect Buenavista in Tlajomulco with the Circuito Metropolitano Sur.