The long-awaited Las Juntas interchange is finally nearing the finish line. Jalisco’s infrastructure chief says crews are pushing to open the bridge to traffic in the last week of September, a milestone for a junction that has choked daily commutes between Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas.
Secretary of Infrastructure and Public Works David Zamora Bueno reported an overall progress of 90% after a site tour with Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro. The main structure is cast. Northbound access ramps are done. Contractors are now placing protective parapets, installing lighting, and completing landscaping.
Puerto Vallarta highway interchange
The project sits at Las Juntas, where State Route 544 meets Federal Highway 200 at the city’s north entrance. The design includes a two-lane elevated overpass carrying traffic from Puerto Vallarta toward Bucerías, as well as new at-grade intersections and lane improvements to ease merges. A pedestrian bridge at Calle Revolución is planned to remove risky crossings at the surface.
Officials say some complementary works will continue after opening. Those include coordinating a storm drain with the municipality and a pedestrian span, both aimed at reducing backups and improving safety around the junction.
Why this junction matters
Las Juntas is the shared throat of a binational metro area that spans Jalisco and Nayarit. Local authorities estimate up to 116,000 vehicles pass the corridor daily, a figure that helps explain why a minor stall can cascade into hour-long jams. The interchange is meant to keep through-traffic moving while clearing local access.
The timing also intersects with federal works. Construction on the last interchange of the Las Varas–Puerto Vallarta highway has narrowed lanes near the airport this month, stretching queues north to Las Juntas during peak hours. State officials are banking on the new overpass to absorb part of that pressure as the federal job wraps up in October.
What will be ready—and what won’t
When the bridge opens, drivers heading from Puerto Vallarta toward Bucerías should gain a continuous, grade-separated path over the junction. Northbound ramp entrances and the core deck are already complete. Crews still need to complete the parapets, lighting, and landscaping before traffic can flow. After opening, work will continue on the storm drain and the pedestrian bridge, which are intended to lock in the safety benefits and keep water off the roadway during heavy rains.
The road ahead
The interchange is part of a larger state plan to improve mobility on the bay’s north side. Earlier briefings outlined the scope, which included a two-lane overpass, concrete-paved lateral lanes, new returns, traffic signals, sidewalks, and planted areas. City leaders have framed the node as a first step, not a finish line, in rebuilding a network that grows with tourism and daily cross-state commuting.
Money has come in stages. Lemus set aside an initial 150 million pesos for the node in the 2025 state budget. Local outlets later reported total investment figures in the 300–400 million-peso range; however, the state’s site was under maintenance today, and we were unable to find a more recent official total. We will update as soon as Jalisco publishes a final cost.
H2: Puerto Vallarta highway interchange
If the schedule holds, the Las Juntas bridge will open before the high season. It won’t end congestion by itself, but it should remove the worst choke point at the city’s front door and make daily life a little less punishing for the people who keep this region moving.
