Federal Highway 23 is a major north/south arterial highway through Guadalajara Metropolitan area. The highway enters said metropolitan area southbound along Carretera a Colotlán. From Jalisco State Highway 126 southeast through Guadalajara to Jalisco State Highway 154 the Federal Highway corridor disappears as it becomes locally maintained. Traffic must follow continuation signage in Zapopan and Guadalajara to reach Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala where Federal Highway 23 resumes near Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara.
Federal Highway 23 from Jalisco State Highway 154 continues south along Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala to a terminus at Federal Highway 35 near Santa Rosa. The corridor long term is planned to be extended to Federal Highway 15 in Jocotepec via Chapala. Presently the northern Jocotepec bypass acts as an unnumbered Federal Highway which connects Federal Highway 15 to Jalisco State Highway 112. This blog will serve to explore the history of Federal Highway 23 in the Guadalajara Metropolitan area and provide a visual tour of the highway corridor.
Part 1; the history of Federal Highway 23 in the Guadalajara Metropolitan area
Mexico Federal Highway 23 is a north/south corridor in the Federal Road System which presently spans 1,157 kilometers. The highway begins at the town of Guanaceví in the state of Durango. From Durango the highway travels southeasterly through the interior Mexico. Federal Highway 23 presently terminates at Federal Highway 35 along the southern outskirts of Guadalajara in a small community of Santa Rosa, Jalisco. A recently completed section bypassing Jocotepec will likely bring the Federal Road through the Chapala area in the future.
Federal Highway 23 was not one of the original routes of the Federal Road System. The corridor was added after the highway network was established to provide a more direct connection to Durango and Guadalajara.
The Federal Road system was created during October 1949 along with a subsidiary of the Nacional Financiera known as Compañía Constructora del Sur. The Mexican Federal Road System was laid out in a grid similar to the then already long-established US Route System. North/South Federal Roads were given odd numbers which ascended east from the states bordering the Pacific Ocean. East/West Federal Roads were given even numbers which ascended southward from the United States border.
Compañía Constructora del Sur in addition to creating a grid-based highway network was charged with creating standards for major highways in Mexico. The agency opened their first Autopista in 1952 which is now part of Federal Highway 95D between Mexico City and Cuernavaca. During August 1956 Compañía Constructora del Sur went through a name change to Caminos Federales de Ingresos. During July 1958 the agency was decentralized and was attached to the Ministery of Communications and Public Works. During June 1959 Caminos Federales de Ingresos was again rebranded as Caminos y Puentes Federales de Ingresos.
Within cities the Federal Road System ceases to be maintained to by Caminos y Puentes Federales de Ingresos. Travelers most rely upon local control signage which often does not include highway reassurance signage. To that end, there is not a true path Federal Highway 23 takes through the cities of Zapopan and Guadalajara due to route not existing within the jurisdictions.
Jalisco maintains an
online government atlas which displays the highway maintenance sections within the State. The gap in Federal Highway 23 begins near the northwest city limit of Zapopan as the corridor reaches Jalisco State Highway 126 via Carretera a Colotlán.
Federal Highway 23 doesn't exist through Zapopan or Guadalajara. The corridor resumes at the mutual terminus of Jalisco Routes 154 and 123 in the southern limits of Tlaquepaque along Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala. It isn't clear but it is likely the State Highway number of "123" is intended to be a reference to Federal Highway 23.
Presently Federal Highway 23 terminates at Federal Highway 35 along Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala near the small community of Santa Rosa. The corridor of Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala carrying Federal Highway 23 provides access to Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara. Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala south of Federal Highway 35 is maintained as Jalisco State Highway 148.
A currently unnumbered Federal Highway bypassing Jocotepec connects Jalisco State Highway 112 to Federal Highway 15. This section is intended to be the future southern terminus of Federal Highway 23. This unnumbered Federal Highway is reached from Santa Rosa by following Jalisco State Highways 148, 119 and 112 through the Chapala area.
Part 2; a drive on Federal Highway 23 in the southern Guadalajara Metropolitan area
Guadalajara lies within Atemajac Valley in an area which is thought to not have had human settlements prior to Spanish contact. The first town site of Guadalajara was plotted in 1532 but did not last long due to a lack of usable water. The town site moved three additional times with the final and current site being chosen in February 1542. Upon being formally established the town of Guadalajara would grow rapidly into the major city in New Spain.
Guadalajara would play numerous parts in the Mexican War of Independence and would become the capital of the then new State of Jalisco in 1823. During the 1880s and 1890s the city would become a hub of railroad transportation which saw it modernize entering the twentieth century. Guadalajara in recent decades has been losing population and now is the seventh largest city in Mexico. As of the 2020 census Guadalajara has a population of 1,385,629.
Much of the population leaving Guadalajara has been relocating to nearby Zapopan. The Zapopan Municipality (the Mexican equivalent to a county) has recently surpassed the Guadalajara Municipality in terms of sheer population. The city and Municipality of Zapopan have far more available lands for urban development which has seen the Guadalajara Metropolitan area sprawl to the northwest.
The point of origin for this visual tour of Federal Highway 23 in the southern part of the Guadalajara Metropolitan area begins in the city itself at Mercado Libertad - San Juan de Dios located on Avenida Javier Mina.
Mercado Libertad - San Juan de Dios is the largest indoor marketplace in Latin America and opened in 1958. This three-floor facility covers approximately 430,000 square feet of selling space.
The exterior of Mercado Libertad - San Juan de Dios is lined with access doors and shops that are open to the surrounding city streets.
The courtyard and bottom floor of Mercado Libertad - San Juan de Dios hosts numerous food stands.
The intersection of Calzada Independencia and Avenida Francisco Javier Mina outside of Mercado Libertad - San Juan de Dios can be seen below.
From Mercado Libertad - San Juan de Dios traffic wishing to access Federal Highway 23 southbound towards Chapala will likely find their way down Avenida Doctor Roberto Michel. Along southbound Avenida Doctor Roberto Michel traffic will encounter a junction with Federal Highway 90 as the Jalisco State Highway 123 portion of Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala beings. Signage at the junction indicates how to reach Federal Highway 23, Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara and Chapala.
Jalisco State Highway 123 carries southbound Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala west of a large hillside neighborhood in Tlaquepaque. North Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala traffic is carried by Jalisco State Highway 111 east of the same hillside neighborhood to Calzada Jesús González Gallo at the Guadalajara city limit. As Jalisco State Highway 123 reaches the junction with Jalisco State Highway 154 the bisected Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala merges and becomes Federal Highway 23.
Federal Highway 23 southbound departs Tlaquepaque. Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala passes through Las Pintas and Las Pintitas where it has junctions with Jalisco State Highways 124 and 168. The entrance and loop road through Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara are classified as part of Federal Highway 23.
Federal Highway 23 from Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara passes through El Refugio, Zapote del Valle. Tres Potrillos, Jardines de la Calera, La Calera, Fraccionamiento Los Sauces, Las Carretas, Los Olivos and Fraccionamiento Puerta del Sol before reaching the southern highway terminus at Federal Highway 35 in Santa Rosa. South of the airport Federal Highway 23 also passes junctions with Jalisco State Highways 158, 107, 115, 118, 133 and 149.
Carretera Guadalajara-Chapala transitions to Jalisco State Highway 148 and intersects the Southern Super Bypass of Guadalajara (Federal Highway GUA 10D).
Part 3; future Federal Highway 23 along the Jocotepec Bypass
As noted in Part 1 the northern bypass of Jocotepec is presently an unnumbered Federal Highway which spans from Federal Highway 15 to Jalisco State Highway 112. The corridor appears on most maps as Carretera Jocotepec-Chapala. Below the eastbound entrance ramp to the bypass of Jocotepec can be seen from southbound Federal Highway 15.
The westbound beginning of the Jocotepec bypass can be below at the start of eastbound Jalisco State Highway 112. Jalisco State Highway 112 continues eastbound along the northern shore of Lake Chapala to the town Chapala.
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