Skip to main content

2020 Jalisco, Mexico Road Trip Part 2

Part 2 of the Jalisco series picks up where Part 1 left off and mostly focuses on my visit to the City of Guadalajara.


Part 1 of the Jalisco Series can be found below:

2020 Jalisco, Mexico Road Trip Part 1

Part 5; Autopista 54D over Laguna San Marcos

On my way back to Zacoalco de Torres from Lake Chapala I took Autopista 54D southbound over Laguna de San Marcos after merging off of Federal Highway 15 northbound.  After descending the hill side the limited access Auto Pista 54D has a toll facility which cost $84 Pesos.  Traffic on Autopista 54D southbound has a return ramp to Gaudalajara immediately beyond the tollbooth.


Autopista 54D south costs a total of $272 Pesos to reach Colima.  Colima is signed as 147 Kilometers south of the tollbooth.


Autopistas in general are a pretty decent analog to the standards seen on the Interstates.  Autopistas even includes traffic devices such as Variable Message Signs.


Autopista 54D southbound enters the mostly dry Laguna de San Marcos on a raised grade.  The grade of Autopista 54D includes a warning regarding frequent dust storms.  After crossing Laguna de San Marcos I pulled off of Autopista 54D southbound onto Camino Real to reach Zacoalco de Torres.













Part 6; Federal Highway 15 northbound and Avenida Adolfo Lopez to Guadalajara 

My approach to Federal Highway 15 northbound was from Federal Highway 54 north and Federal Highway 80 east.






Federal Highway 15 north climbs in elevation and intersects Federal Highway GUA 10D.  Federal Highway GUA 10D essentially is a limited access bypass of Guadalajara and is more known as Libramiento Sur de Guadalajara.






 
After interesting Federal Highway GUA 10D the route of Federal Highway 15 north descends into 




Federal Highway 15 north crosses through Santa Cruz de las Flores and intersects Metropolitan South Circuit.  Interestingly Federal Highway 54 briefly appears somewhat co-signed at the split of Metropolitan South Circuit.











Despite being a well engineered surface expressway there are some unique traffic issues that can be seen on Federal Highway 15 north like unsecured brick loads.



Oddly the turn off for Las Plazas Outlet has Federal Highway 39 signage which shouldn't be present.


Federal Highway 15 north continues into San Agustin and the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area.






Federal Highway 15 north begins to have some small limited access underpass segments starting in San Agustin.




The artwork on some of the overpasses on Federal Highway 15 is...interesting?


Federal Highway 15 north passes through Los Gavilanes and San Jose del Tajo before entering Zapopan.














Federal Highway 15 north intersects Anillo Periferico Norte Manuel Gomez.  Anillo Periferico Norte Manuel Gomez has signage directing traffic to segments of Federal Highway 15D.









Federal Highway 15 north splits onto Avenida Mariano Otero approaching the City Limits of Guadalajara.  I stayed straight onto Avenida Adolfo Lopez Mateos.







Avenida Adolfo Lopez Mateos passes through a couple of underpasses and enters the City of Guadalajara.  Avenida Adolfo Lopez Mateos passes under Federal Highway 15 in front of Hotel Riu Plaza Guadalajara.  Hotel Riu Plaza Guadalajara opened in 2011 is the tallest building in Guadalajara at 705 feet.
















Avenida Adolfo Lopez Mateos northbound passes under Minerva Roundabout and Glorieta Colon via a series of tunnels.






I followed Avenida Adolfo Lopez Mateos to it's northern end and made an southern turn onto Avenida de las Americas to backtrack towards Central Guadalajara.








Part 7; Mercado Libertad

After spending what seemed like an infinite amount of time attempting to negotiate the narrow streets and construction zones in Central Guadalajara I arrived at Mercardo Libertad.


Mercado Libertad is officially known as "San Juan de Dios Market" and is the largest indoor market place in Latin America.  Mercado Libertad opened in December of 1958 and operates in a facility which is approximately 430,000 square feet.   Mercado Libertad has a three floor interior which somewhat resembles something you'd see out of the first Blade Runner movie.



The exterior of Mercado Libertad is lined with access doors and shops that are open to the surrounding City streets.





The courtyard and bottom floor of Mercado Libertad feature numerous food stands.   I partook in a large torta (which might have been the best I've ever had) on the lower level before leaving Mercado Libertad for the airport. 


Mercado Libertad is located at the intersection of Calzada Independencia and Avenida Francisco Javier Mina.




Part 8; Federal Highway 23 to Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport

My path from Mercado Libertad to Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport ("GDL") was through the City Streets of Guadalajara gradually to Federal Highway 23.  From Mercado Libertad on Avenida Francisco Javier Mina I turned south on Caldaza Independencia.


Traffic headed south to GDL is directed to turn off of Caldaza Independencia onto Avenida Dr. Roberto Michel.



Avenida Dr. Roberto Michel south enters Tlaquepaque and junctions Federal Highway 80.  Avenida Dr. Roberto Michel merges into Federal Highway 23 south.



Federal Highway 23 south splits one-way around the western flank of a large hill and merges back in with the northbound lanes near Avenida San Martin.





Federal Highway 23 south passes through Las Pintas and Las Pintitas.  South of Las Pintitas Federal Highway 23 reaches the entrance of GDL on the outskirts of El Refugio.










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Petroleum Club Road (former California State Route 33 and US Route 399 past the Lakeview Gusher)

Petroleum Club Road is an approximately 5.3-mile rural highway located in the Sunset Oil Field of western Kern County.  This corridor was constructed as a frontage road of the Sunset Railroad and would be the site of the Lakeview Gusher in 1910.  Petroleum Club Road was the original alignment of California State Route 33 and US Route 399 between 1934-1938.  In 1938 the West Side Highway was constructed west of Lakeview Gusher and still serves as the current alignment of California State Route 33.   Part 1; the history of Petroleum Club Road Petroleum Club Road is the original highway which linked the oil communities of Maricopa and Taft.  Both cities were developed around the early boom of the Sunset Oil Field.  The early Sunset Oil Field can be seen centered along Cienega Canyon Road southwest of Buena Vista Lake in Township 11 North, Range 23 West on the 1898 Kern County Surveyors map .  In 1901 Post Office Service would be established at the Su...

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...

Klipstein Canyon Road (Kern County)

Klipstein Canyon Road is an approximately 6.2-mile rural highway located in the San Emigdio Mountains of Kern County.  This highway begins at Hudson Ranch Road and travels northward through Cienega Canyon and Devils Gulch to California State Routes 166 and 33 near Maricopa.  Klipstein Canyon Road is maintained as Kern County Mountain Road 277. What is now Klipstein Canyon Road was part of the original stage corridor in Cienega Canyon between Cuyama Valley and Kern Lake.  Following construction of the Grocer Grade in Sunset Canyon the Cienega Canyon corridor would mostly become associated with an oil boom at Pattiway.  During the 1950s the northern part of the highway was realigned near Klipstein Ranch to better align with Maricopa.  The highway name was changed to Klipstein Canyon Road despite Cienega Canyon never having been actually renamed.   Part 1; the history of Klipstein Canyon Road What is now Klipstein Canyon Road was part of the original stag...