COMPOSTELA, Nayarit, Sept. 19, 2026 — Construction has started on the 26-kilometer Las Varas–Platanitos highway, with completion scheduled for September 2028 after a 24-month build.
The project carries a 4.2 billion-peso construction estimate, plus right-of-way acquisition costs. Project figures released with the construction announcement forecast that travel time will fall from 33 minutes to 14 minutes.
For Puerto Vallarta readers, that 19-minute reduction applies only between Las Varas and Platanitos. It does not shorten the entire journey north from Puerto Vallarta.
Local impact is mainly north of Las Varas
The highway is being built within the municipality of Compostela. It will not enter Bahía de Banderas or Jalisco.
Drivers traveling north from Puerto Vallarta International Airport will still use Federal Highway 200 through Bucerías, Sayulita, and Lo de Marcos before reaching Las Varas.
The new segment begins beyond those communities and extends toward Platanitos. It is intended to improve access to the central and northern Nayarit coast, including future connections toward San Blas.
The project also will not bypass Highway 200 inside Puerto Vallarta, where a seven-hour blockade in September 2025 caused widespread traffic disruption.
Its direct benefits are expected around Las Varas, Platanitos and nearby coastal communities. The broader road network will connect those areas with Bahía de Banderas, Puerto Vallarta, Tepic and Guadalajara.
Published project estimates forecast an annual daily average of 2,050 vehicles after the highway opens. The 19-minute projected saving represents a 58% reduction for the specific Las Varas–Platanitos segment.
The project includes more than 26 kilometers of pavement
Our review of the federal procurement notice shows that the project includes a 3.5-kilometer connection with Federal Highway 200.
The notice also lists 7.07 kilometers distributed among three interchanges. It identifies 26 structures along the route.
Detailed project data divides those works into 18 structures, seven bridges and one viaduct.
The road will be built with asphalt under the federal A2 highway classification. Project documents describe its delivery model as construction, maintenance, rehabilitation, and operation.
The 4.2 billion-peso estimate equals about 161.5 million pesos per kilometer of the core route, based on our calculation. That figure excludes additional right-of-way costs.
Construction is forecast to generate 950 direct jobs and 1,400 indirect jobs, according to the published project estimates. Those figures are projections rather than confirmed employment totals.
Federal procurement began before the construction announcement
The federal government published its request for construction-supervision bids through Compras MX on May 12. The schedule called for proposals to open June 4 and a decision on June 24.
That procurement notice identified the highway as the first stage of the Las Varas–Platanitos project. Current reports place the work in its construction phase as of September.
The route had been announced before the procurement process began. At the November 2025 opening of the Tepic–Compostela highway, President Claudia Sheinbaum described the planned coastal extension.
“We are already announcing that this highway continues to Las Varas-Platanitos and Platanitos-San Blas,” Sheinbaum said in Spanish.
The Platanitos–San Blas extension is separate from the 26-kilometer project now under construction. The September 2028 schedule applies to the Las Varas–Platanitos segment.
