Amado Nervo Bridge construction set to start June 25 to improve traffic between Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas.
Construction of the long-awaited Amado Nervo Bridge will begin this Wednesday, June 25, marking a milestone for road infrastructure in the Bay Area. The Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT), Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina, confirmed the start date during President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo’s morning press conference on June 4, 2025. Esteva Medina noted that this bridge is part of a package of 10 key road projects scheduled for this year.
“We are close to starting all of these; they are in the bidding process, and they all begin practically in June. We will be in Nayarit, Amado Nervo,” the secretary explained.
For more than a decade, local residents and commuters have asked for a better way to cross the Ameca River. Currently, vehicles traveling between the municipalities of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, and Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, face bottlenecks at the existing crossings. Those two municipalities form the Metropolitan Zone of the Bay Area, which has nearly half a million inhabitants. A large portion of them need to cross the river daily for work, school, or errands.
By building the new structure—previously known as the Federation Bridge—the federal government aims to reduce travel times, raise safety standards, and ease congestion on the main arterial roads. Once complete, the Amado Nervo Bridge will provide a direct route north of the current crossings, allowing drivers to bypass central traffic.
According to SICT, the Amado Nervo Bridge project entered the bidding phase earlier this year. Contracts were awarded in late May, and crews are set to mobilize on June 25, 2025. The federal government allocated this bridge funds as part of a broader transportation initiative that includes ten road and bridge works across Jalisco and Nayarit. In total, officials plan to invest roughly 1.2 billion pesos in these ten projects, which range from rural road improvements to major urban bypasses.
Construction crews will first clear and grade a section of land on the Nayarit side of the Ameca River. Work will then shift to forming reinforced concrete piers in the riverbed. According to SICT engineers, the entire process should take about 18 months. If no unforeseen delays occur, traffic is expected to flow over the bridge by late 2026.
Once completed, the Amado Nervo Bridge will have an immediate effect on traffic flow in both states. Commuters who previously spent up to 45 minutes waiting at existing crossings could see their travel time cut in half. Delivery trucks and tour buses bound for Nayarit’s coastal towns—Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías, and La Cruz de Huanacaxtle—will gain a more direct path, reducing fuel costs and emissions.
Local businesses may also benefit. Easier access across the river could spur growth in retail outlets, restaurants, and service stations along the new corridor. Real-estate developers are already eyeing land near the south entrance of the bridge, anticipating a rise in demand for both residential and commercial properties.
During her June 4 press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum highlighted that the Amado Nervo Bridge is one of 21 road projects targeted for this administration. She emphasized that improving connectivity between neighboring states not only enhances mobility but also supports regional economic integration.
“We are committed to finishing these works and keeping people moving safely,” President Sheinbaum said.
Other projects in the same package include widening the federal highway between Tepic and Compostela, repairing rural roads in southern Jalisco, and upgrading the toll booths on Highway 200. By year’s end, at least three of those major works should be underway.
Local mayors in both Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas have voiced support for the project. Bahía de Banderas Mayor Juanita Martínez called the bridge “a game-changer” for local commerce, while Puerto Vallarta Mayor Miguel Ángel Rodríguez praised the federal government for listening to long-standing demands. Residents living near the planned bridge site have been invited to public meetings, where engineers will present safety measures and traffic-rerouting plans.
In the weeks ahead, SICT will publish the detailed construction schedule and set up a hotline for inquiries. Motorists should expect occasional lane closures on nearby highways as crews stage equipment and materials. Once traffic shifts over to the new bridge, SICT officials say they will rehabilitate the older crossings to ensure a balanced traffic network throughout the Bay Area.
