Although it had been announced for September, work resumed last week. 

Miguel Cerna: Late,  but progressing.  Last week, the Government of the State of Jalisco resumed the construction of the bicycle path that will connect Ajijic with San Juan Cosalá when its second stage is completed.  According to the Jocotepec municipal president José Miguel Gómez López, the $87.5 million peso project will extend from the exit of the neighboring town and up to the area of the thermal waters. 

Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro Ramírez had announced the beginning of the work in September when he went to supervise the Chapala work last August, but the work began only last week

José Miguel Gómez López, said that, “as of September, we are already in the bidding process for the work; we started the second stage which already has a budget of 87.5 million pesos. We have completed the Ajijic segment and are going to reach San Juan Cosalá,  so we are already in Jocotepec».

Last November 9,  the Mayor of Jocotepec met with restaurant owners in the Piedra Barrenada restaurant row to discuss the complications and annoyances the construction would cause and how to mitigate it. The previous cyclopista passed over the mountain to avoid reducing lanes, but  the Civil Protection agency objected to the risk of the mountain route, forcing the path to use the highway, reducing the number of lanes and tightening traffic. 

“ We evaluated running the path over the mountain on stone roads and not on the highway but  Civil Protection ruled that the route was unsafe – a risk for cyclists because the stone is broken, killing this route, «the Mayor explained. 

However, the possibility will be re-evaluated with new studies to determine if the danger persists. According to Gomez Lopez, the second stage of the cyclopista will be completed in January  and then construction crews will finish the stretch to the municipal seat of Jocotepec, thus concluding the entire work approximately in March, resulting  in a bike path from Jocotepec to  Chapala.  Translated  by Patrick O’Heffernan