With this main artery closed, local business people have feared that this year’s high season for tourism would be negatively affected. “I’ve received emails asking about whether a visitor could get from here to Punta de Mita or other parts north,” confirmed a local source. “But in the end, it sounded like people were coming anyway. People love the Bay (of Banderas). They just wanted to know if they should plan for a bit of delay.”
For locals, the bridge closure has been a bit more inconvenient, causing substantial hold-ups on daily commutes.
Puerto Vallarta’s Mayor Salvador Gonzalez Resendiz attributes the quick resolution to the special attention that Jalisco Governor Gonzalez Marquez and the Secretary of SCT Juan Molinar Horascasitas gave the issue.
On August 31 of 2010, during a particularly destructive rainy season which also saw flooding in Sayulita, San Pancho and surrounding areas, the Ameca Bridge collapsed under the force of a swollen Ameca River. The event was followed by landslides in Oaxaca and a hurricane off the coast of Yucatan.
This great news for the region comes during the UN Climate Conference in Cancun where Mexico’s President Calderon made “radical” promises about the country’s position and future actions regarding industrial, agricultural, and transport emissions.
