New Tunnel is Open!!

With so many projects going on in Puerto Vallarta these past few years it is hard to remember to talk about them all!  One of them is the behind the scenes on the less familiar Hwy 200 aka Libramiento that bypasses the Malecon.  It is mainly used by us daily travelers to the South Side and is much quicker than the more touristy streets through the center of town.
To my surprise the project was begun over a year ago as I never thought I would be around to see a 2nd portal being built on this road as the first one was probably built back in the 1970s.   It was certainly showing its age with leaks and decay, so I suspect the Federal government needed to address the situation as this road is the only way for truck traffic to proceed to the south of Puerto Vallarta.  They would never be able to negotiate the small streets through the center of town.  A new highway that bypasses all of Puerto Vallarta is still in the works and no one has a completion schedule, although I heard that the first 30 km of the 120 km was completed.
The new tunnel is much wider, higher, and even includes decent sidewalks on both sides.  The lighting seems to be temporary and of course no ventilation was installed, so it is quite smoggy during heavy traffic periods.  But all in all a great addition and will now allow for 4 lanes of traffic through the area, after the renovation work is completed on the old tunnel.  Enjoy it as I certainly do every day!!