Puerto Vallarta Bridge Collapse Update

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

Thursday Sept 2 at 6 pm: Not much new to report on the bridge collapse except that there are now comments circulating about how quickly and responsibly the government responded. Even more heartening are the comments about how well the community pulled together to solve a very serious problem. To think in the midst of all that happened Eddie could actually make it to the airport Tuesday morning in time to catch his flight strikes me as very little short of a miracle. It seems to confirm the many other examples that we have witnessed of the Mexican people supporting each and not being shy to treat foreigners as family when the need arises.

Thursday Sept 2 at 10 am: People are reporting various wait times at the bridge. Some say several hours while other have managed to get through in much less by going in the off hours. Expect major delays at the bridge.

As of 10 pm Wednesday buses and trucks are also crossing the bridge.  Rick reported at 9:30 pm that he returned from the airport by Pacifico bus saying:  “There was a bit of a slowdown as we approached the bridge, but no big holdup.  The big holdup was further north where they’ve been building the new over crossing for some time now.  That took 20 minutes or more to get through.  The govt. has done a pretty good job of getting traffic moving.”

As of Wednesday noon September 1, 2010 the south bound bridge is open to taxis, cars, vans and pickups in both directions. No buses or trucks are passing.

Read original article here.

Land slides closed the eastern access road from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta through Mascota leaving the only major road access to the town from the south. The small roads which access Puerto Vallarta through the area of San Sebastian del Oeste involve some river bed crossings which are probably not usable this time of year. It was reported Wednesday at 8:30pm that the road to Guadalajara was reopened Tuesday.

Some other details: The south bound bridge is the older of the two being built some 40 years ago.

Eyewitness reports:

From his vantage point at the regular Wednesday morning Rotary club meeting in Guayabitos Bill tells me there are no trucks passing on the highway and very few buses which are likely serving only towns north of the bridge. He reported that trucks are parked at the fruit stands all along the highway waiting for a resolution. (8:30 Wednesday)

Eddie reported that he made it to his flight yesterday by taking the bus to Nuevo Vallarta’s Paradise Village where the party boats were operating at no charge. Eddie says they waited about 10 minutes for the boat to fill and then it took about 45 minutes to reach API by the cruise ship terminal. He saw at least three other party boats operating and 20 water taxis.

Jeanie who was stuck in Puerto Vallarta when the bridge collapsed reported on our community board that she made it back today in one hour and 10 minutes by leaving at 6am. That is about normal for the drive. Buses and trucks are still not allowed across.

Local forum discussion on OurVallarta.com here including pictures of the rescue of the female passenger in the taxi that fell in the river.

The Guadalajara reporter (9:28 Tuesday) said:

Highway 200 is one of the busiest roads in both Jalisco and Nayarit.

To compound the problem, landslides are blocking the highway between Mascota and Las Palmas, the only other vehicular access to Vallarta from Guadalajara. This road enters the Puerto Vallarta area via Ixtapa, two kilometers east of the fallen bridge, alongside the city airport.