Acapulco's Highway

At four in the afternoon on November 11, 1927, from the National Palace in Mexico City, President PIutarco Elias Calles set off the charge that lit the dynamite blasts in the last plugs of rock on the stunning new Acapulco highway, at the site marked “Kilometer 402,” using as his guide the telegraph system.This paved road finally replaced the carriage track that had been opened in 1592 by the Viceroy’s government.

After the explosion, several crews of workmen cleared away the debris, to let the committee through to the official ceremony, conducted by the Governor of the State of Guerrero and the Mayor of the City of Acapulco. A very solemn military band struck up the strains of a proud martial tune. By November 18 the first dozen automobiles had driven overland to Acapulco.

Porfirio Díaz had dedicated the road from Iguala to Chilpancingo. By the end of 1920 work had been undertaken to lengthen this stretch but labor ceased due to a revolt in 1923. The work was taken up again the following year and concluded in 1927. The present highway, now much improved, was a later effort, completed in 1931. The first airfield, an important innovation, dates from 1928