SICT Launches First Stage of Acapulco’s West Bypass

The Ministry of Infrastructure Communications and Transport (SICT) started the first stage of operations of the western bypass in Acapulco, which will benefit over 800,000 inhabitants of the municipalities of Acapulco de Juarez and Coyuca de Benitez and will improve the travel times inside one of the country’s most important touristic destinations. 

The project required an investment of over US$208 million, obtained through a financing scheme of the National Fund for Infrastructure (FONADIN). It is 21km in length and 21m in width. The bypass has a four-lane capacity, with two lanes for each direction. It also includes three tunnels, four viaducts and three overpass connections.

The bypass aims to connect the Del Sol highway and the Costa Grande region. This way, traffic could avoid passing through Acapulco’s busy urban area, which will significantly reduce travel time for the route from 38 to 11 minutes. The project also created over 15,000 direct and 62,000 indirect jobs. “The estimated yearly average for daily transit will be 6,648 vehicles,” said the ministry.

The toll zone, constructed using FONADIN resources amounting to US$6 million, will depend on CAPUFE for administration and operation.

According to SICT, the project will trigger social, economic and touristic development in the region. It will also improve connectivity, safety and user comfort as well as reduce travel times and transportation costs. It is a public project with a concession granted for 39 years, its main source of income being the tolls.

In Oct. 2021, President López Obrador announced the western bypass of Acapulco would be inaugurated by Dec. 2021. The project originally began development in 2013, during Enrique Peña Nieto’s presidential term. It was then stopped and restarted by the current administration. 

The bypass is not the only infrastructure project the López Obrador’s administration has restarted, with the Mexico-Toluca Interurban train one of the biggest other projects the government has taken up once again.