Puerta Vallarta Ameca Bridge Collapses

[stevenmex]

Ameca Bridge Collapses

Tuesday, 31 August 2010 05:39

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Ameca Bridge CollapseRaquel Cibrian

The north-bound bridge over the Ameca River collapsed last night at 2:30 A.M. Nayarit's Governor Ney Gonzalez confirmed via Facebook that the bridge collapsed due to intense currents. Reports state that no traffic is moving in either direction.

At approximately 2:30 A.M. on August 31, the north-bound (old) Ameca bridge that connects Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit collapsed. It is reported that about 60 meters (totaling two sections) of the bridge fell into the current of the river last night. Minutes later, local authorities decided to stop circulation on both bridges. At the scene are military personnel, civil protection,the fire department, municipal police, the red cross, and the marines.

Authorities are at the scene searching for missing persons. Two people were rescued, three cars are reported fallen, and one family is still missing. Civil Protection reports that it was the tensors that failed. Eyewitnesses say that no one can cross the bridge, not even by foot. Civil protection personnel at the scene commented that the south-bound bridge is currently closed to vehicles and pedestrians and that this is expected to last several hours, and possibly all day. People traveling north from Puerto Vallarta or south from Riviera Nayarit should postpone their trip or take a water taxi. Water taxis are available at the Nuevo Vallarta Marina , Paradise Marina, and Riviera Nayarit Marina at La Cruz.

At 4:30 A.M., local authorities closed traffic on the south-bound Ameca bridge to Puerto Vallarta, and they are awaiting specialized personnel from the SCT to evaluate the new bridge (which is downriver from the collapsed bridge) for safety. Federal and state police in Compostela are asking south-bound traffic on Highway 200 to turn back to avoid traffic problems.

Jalisco's Governor Emilio Gonzalez Marquez arrived in Puerto Vallarta this morning and issued a statement in which he mentioned that they have implemented an "air bridge" of helicopters that are available to get people back and forth to hospitals for medical emergencies. The governor also mentioned that two other bridges in the area of Las Palmas, Jalisco had also collapsed last night.

Centro Universitario de la Costa's main meteorologist said that last night, the University recorded high levels of rainfall. He mentioned that there are unconfirmed reports from the region of San Juan de Abajo of extremely high levels of rain last night. In his words, the 178.5 mm of rain was "comparable to one month of rain in one night."

[lindenlee]

Has anyone heard about updates to the landslide/bridge/access issues in PV?

My friend and I are arriving in Chapala on Tuesday, and are due at a wedding in Punta Mita on Friday. We were going to rent a car to drive over and stay in PV, then my friend there said the bridge was out and we should try to stay in Sayulita.

The place we wanted to stay said that all the foreigners have left Sayulita, and there is no access to the town yet, as the bridge is out from the highway. Now we don't know what to do. This is an importnat oaccasion for my friend, as it is her favorite nephew who is getting married.

Any suggestions or updates that might help? thanks!

[jailbait]

try the pv forum:

http://www.puertovallarta.net/forum

[lindenlee]

THank you so much, it has tons of information and updates.

[cedros]

The Sayulita forum also has lots of information;

http://sayulita-mexico.com/index.php?