Cinco Señores

There has been a lot in the news about the construction project at one of the key intersections of the city known as Cinco Señores.  I live to the north of the city and it is the easiest way to get most anywhere south of the city.

I drive through it regularly to get to Plaza del Valle, the airport or any of the places on the way to Ocotlan.  Needless to say, I am not alone.  It is one of the busiest and most important intersections in the city.

This is one of the first big projects taken on by the Cué administration so it is getting lots of scrutiny.  The roof on the Guelagueza auditorium was begun during the previous one.  I'm not saying that Gabino Cué has not done plenty for the city and state already, just that this is a big and challenging one.... and a very public one. 

Also, too, I lived through Boston's Big Dig, all 25 years of it, all $18 billion worth and yes, it was a pain, but imagine that amount of money being spent on infrastructure in your city instead of on bombs, invading other countries and well, you get the point.  The Big Dig is a remarkable success in my opinion.  Anyone remember how long it took to get to the airport or the mass of overpasses and weird roads?

So as construction began here, chaos followed.  Traffic, which can be pretty ugly, got even uglier.  All of a sudden people started to notice.  Maybe the projected was publicly discussed, but clearly lots of people did not get that memo.

The local heavyweight artists got involved and said, "Hold on.  Isn't there a better way?"  Remember these are the guys, Toledo and others, who formed Pro-Oax, to protect and improve the nature of the city.  They have been involved in many restoration and civic projects.  They are heavy hitters!  They want to put a hold on the project and have offered to sell some of their works to raise money.  More importantly they want to talk to the Governor about the project.

The businesses and neighbors are not all that happy either.
With all the news, I thought I would walk down and check out the scene.  Yes, the traffic was bad.

 Ugly, but there were police directing it.  I spoke to one of them and he said it was only bad from early morning until late at night.  But not to worry, it is only for the next eight months to a year.  And no desviacion does not mean devastation, only detour.

Here's what the final thing might look like.

And soon they will be cutting down the huge palm trees that are in the berm of the intersection.