Completion of the long overdue Puerto Escondido-Oaxaca highway is still a way off but that has not deterred adventurous vacationers from trying the new route and cutting some travel time between the coast and the Central Valleys.
Local news outlets report that drivers headed toward the coast of Oaxaca have ventured out to use the unfinished highway, setting aside fears of being stranded halfway, regardless of whether they have to drive over unpaved roads and cross streams and rivers to be able to rejoin the paved sections.
According to the newspaper El Imparcial, the highway is impassable in the Coatlanes area due to a blockade set up by one of the municipalities embroiled in a land dispute, so a detour is necessary.
In addition, smaller cars have a hard time negotiating the unpaved roads. Construction of a viaduct, three bridges and some tunnels is still incomplete or pending, leading to some drivers conjecturing that completion may still take up to one more year.
The 102.4-kilometer highway, under construction since 2007, is expected to reduce travel time between the capital and Puerto Escondido to about 2 1/2 hours.
With reports from El Heraldo de México
