There is still 15 percent to go before the completion of the San Juan Cosalá section of the bicycle lane. Photo: Héctor Ruiz.

Héctor Ruiz Mejía (Jocotepec).– The bicycle lane under construction on the Chapala-Jocotepec highway in the San Juan Cosalá section in the municipality of Jocotepec, is 85 percent complete. 

Enrique González Ramírez, head of Social Communication of the Jalisco Secretariat of Infrastructure and Public Works (SIOP), said that by the end of March the project will be completed and handed over to the municipality.

Although last November the bicycle lane was 68 percent complete, in the last three months it only advanced 17 percent, due to setbacks suffered in the section, including the landslides that affected the areas in October and negotiations with the inhabitants of the town. 

The remaining 15 percent of the work  includes the leveling of sidewalks, as well as the replacement of drinking water and drainage pipes. Gonzalez Ramirez said that the bike lane was designed with flexible lines depending on the topography of the site; it will be enclosed by two side curbs, and a red terracotta asphalt seal on the roadway, street lighting, vegetation and road safety devices.

Neighbors and owners of businesses established on the bike path demanded the completion of the road, arguing that they were tired of the traffic and dust generated by the work. 

«I pass by here every day and I just don’t see when they will finish; I see that they keep adding and adding cement, and they don’t stop», commented Ricardo, a bricklayer who passes through this section every day.

Translated by Sydney Metrick