A sinkhole on Prisciliano Sánchez has closed lanes toward La Aurora and pulled SEAPAL crews into another visible test of Puerto Vallarta’s sewer system. The agency says repairs could be completed within 72 hours, but the work is tied to a collector blockage that has already caused wastewater impacts in Versalles and Parque Las Palmas. The repair plan now depends on heavy equipment, temporary pumping, and traffic changes in one of the city’s busy cross-town corridors.
Repair clock starts on Prisciliano Sánchez
SEAPAL Vallarta says it expects to repair the sinkhole at Prisciliano Sánchez within 72 hours. Lanes toward La Aurora remain closed while crews work on a failure tied to the Centro-Norte collector.
Carlos Ruiz, SEAPAL’s director, estimated the repair window after the sinkhole opened on Avenida Prisciliano Sánchez. The closure affects the stretch from the Vallarta 500 entrance to the Las Moras crossing.
SEAPAL later wrote, “We continue to make progress in repairing the sinkhole on Prisciliano Sánchez!” The agency added that crews were working “a marchas forzadas,” a phrase used for urgent work under pressure.
The problem is not only pavement. SEAPAL linked the sinkhole to a blockage in the Centro-Norte collector, the city’s main drainage line. The same incident produced wastewater impacts in Versalles and near Parque Las Palmas, according to the repair account released after inspection.
Crews are using a 320-type excavator to break the damaged area. They also planned shoring to protect the main drinking-water line. A Perkins pump was to move flow from a manhole about 100 meters away, where a Vactor truck was operating.
Traffic shifts around the work zone
The traffic plan changes two corridors at once. On Prisciliano Sánchez, the east-west lanes remain closed. The opposite lanes toward El Pitillal operate in double circulation. On Avenida México, the south-north lanes are closed, and the other side handles both directions.
SEAPAL said it is working with Municipal Traffic officers in the zone. The available notices advise drivers and pedestrians to use alternate routes, follow temporary signs, and avoid the machinery area.
The wastewater impacts add a second layer to the job. SEAPAL said a crew was assigned to sanitation work in Versalles to reduce odors and health risks linked to the spill.
The agency has not released a cleanup schedule for Versalles or Parque Las Palmas. It has also not published a repair cost, the diameter of the failed pipe, or a firm reopening hour for Prisciliano Sánchez.
A collector with a repair history
The damaged section is part of a system with a long repair history. SEAPAL’s public works registry lists a 2023 project for lining the deflection box of the Centro-Norte collector at Avenida Prisciliano Sánchez and Avenida México. That project carried a July 13, 2023, completion date.
The same registry lists 2020 work on other Centro-Norte collector segments in the city center. Those jobs included repairing 52 meters of 36-inch collector pipe and constructing siphon sections. The records do not prove a cause for the current collapse. They do show that the collector has required repeated intervention.
SEAPAL’s own news archive has also described recent collector and drainage work. In July 2025, the utility said Puerto Vallarta had more than 4,000 kilometers of potable water and drainage pipes. More than half were older than 30 years and showed advanced wear, according to that account.
That figure gives scale to the system SEAPAL is trying to keep running. It does not identify the failed section on Prisciliano Sánchez as one of those older lines. The agency has not released a technical diagnosis tying age, blockage, or soil conditions to the sinkhole.
The 72-hour repair window applies to the immediate failure. It does not answer whether the collector needs more work after the road reopens. Subdirector operativo Alejandro Padilla said the affected part of the collector had already received interventions in previous years. The current work, he said, is focused on an immediate solution to contain the collapse.
The repair clock began Thursday afternoon, June 4, according to notices describing uninterrupted work. Counted exactly, that would point to Sunday afternoon, June 7. Later repair updates indicated that completion could be delayed to Monday if field conditions slow the work.
This is the same public-service lane that often frustrates people trying to report leaks, sewage spills, or street hazards. A recent guide on how to report a problem to Puerto Vallarta city government notes that water and sewer complaints should go directly to SEAPAL. Street-level hazards may also require municipal reporting.
The broader pressure on local services has also been covered in an explainer on why Puerto Vallarta’s infrastructure feels stretched. This sinkhole makes that issue visible in asphalt, sewage flow, traffic lanes, and repair crews.
As of the latest available notices, Prisciliano Sánchez remains under traffic restrictions. SEAPAL had not published a final reopening time, a cost estimate, or a detailed engineering report on the failed collector segment.
