Picking through a few of the recent news items going around, there’s a note that is of particular interest, especially those of us living in the area of La Ropa Beach in Zihuatanejo. Driving through the Palm Grove yesterday there was a gathering of large machinery and equipment at the point where the new La Ropa – Agua de Correa Boulevard is to start off into the hills behind La Ropa. It looked as though finally, after fits and starts and delays, this long-planned road system, which could greatly ease traffic over the one and only access road to La Ropa from downtown, may be receiving some attention once again.
Zihuatanejo Bay
Parts of these roads were laid down and some even paved more than a couple of years ago, and supposedly certain attending infrastructure (drainage and subterranean utilities) put in place, but these sections were never completed or opened to traffic, were left basically in abandonment and many of the smaller roads that were cut in seem to have simply deteriorated into overgrown trails over time. Now with this renewed effort, work is supposedly to commence immediately on an initial 2.2 kilometer, two-lane stretch branching off from the main La Ropa Road.
Why only 2.2 kms are being done at this point is not clear. Much of the property in this back-of-La-Ropa area has purportedly already been sold, but without the necessary and promised access and services, little building or development has been undertaken to date. According to local reports, the La Ropa-Agua de Correa road project is supposed to comprise a total of 6 1/2 kilometers of 4-lane boulevard with a treed and landscaped central median, running from the palm huerta over the ridge line of the hills to the south and east to connect to Agua de Correa. It is also supposed to facilitate access to the areas of Riscalillo, La Pedregosa and Playa Manzanillo outside of Zihuatanejo Bay. Eventually, it’ll allow vehicular traffic much more direct access from La Ropa to the Zihuatanejo airport, the highway to Acapulco and the southern beach areas of Playa Larga, Playa Blanca and Barra de Potosi without having to go through the already congested downtown area around Plaza Kioto or along Paseo de la Boquita.
When the road system was first cut in and bulldozed way back when, we took a quick trip up along the ridgeline and were bowled over by the absolutely gorgeous views afforded by the route – once finished, it will be a spectacularly panoramic drive, and I can only hope that within the plans being worked on now are a couple of public lookout points that will allow people to photograph and enjoy the views of our beautiful bay from that direction as well as take in the the long stretches of white-sanded beaches to the south.
