Governor Salomón Jara carried out a tour of the Barranca Larga-Ventanilla highway section of the Costa-Oaxaca highway last week and reported that it was 87.5% complete.
The governor also viewed the work being done at one of the highway’s two toll sites, which will be know as the Barranca Larga Collection Plaza.
Juan Segura, director of the company responsible for the construction of the toll site, told the governor that the facility will include a toll zone with two fast lanes, one going from Puerto Escondido to Oaxaca city and the second one in opposite direction, and three bidirectional lanes that can carry traffic north or nouth, depending on traffic volume and allowing for a better experience for drivers.
The Barranca Larga toll booth is currently 38% complete and will also have a National Guard base, an administrative building, a building that will house the plaza control center and related services for drivers, as well as an automobile repair station, and a solar panel array.
Governor Jara also toured the site of the highway’s tunnels, as well as the Oaxaca Viaduct.
It is estimated that the Barranca Larga-Ventanilla highway will directly benefit over 100,000 inhabitants of the towns it will run through, including Ejutla de Crespo, Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz, San Vicente Coatlán, San Pablo Coatlán, San Sebastián Coatlán and Santa María Colotepec, Barranca Larga, Santa Catarina Coatlán, San Pedro Coatlán, Santiago Yogana, San Antonio Lalana and San Isidro Comitlán.
The road has a length of 104.3 kilometers, and drivers will cross 10 bridges, three tunnels, two toll booths, two viaducts and 15 junctions. Once operational, 4,253 vehicles per day are expected to use the road, reducing transit times between Puerto Escondido and the state capital from six to just 2.5 hours. The completion of the road will also entail the creation of an estimated 1,800 direct jobs and 3,500 indirect ones.
During the tour, Jara remarked that his administration will be monitoring closely the progress on the highway until its conclusion, stressing that the project will benefit all of Oaxaca and the 11 municipalities through which it passes. “We are going to work to achieve the completion of the highway as quickly as possible, which will bring economic and tourist benefits.”
Since being sworn into office on Dec. 1, Governor Jara has repeated his prediction that the highway could be completed by mid-2023. Work started in 2007, with a completion date set in 2010. Delays have ensued since.
With reports by Revista Mujeres
