The Circuito Interior Bicentenario ("Bicentennial Inner Loop") or more commonly, Circuito Interior or even more simply Circuito, is a 42-km-long (26 mi) urban freeway (in parts) and at-grade boulevard (in others), forming a loop around the central neighborhoods of Mexico City. It was built starting in 1961.[1] The Circuito Interior received the appellation Bicentenario (Bicentennial) after a renovation that took place in 2010, Mexico's bicentennial year.
In 1951, 8 km (5 mi) of the Río Consulado river's course between the Monumento a la Raza and Mexico City Airport was put underground and the route was opened as a highway. Regent Ernesto P. Uruchurtu decided upon the routing underground of more stretches of the rivers Río Consulado, Río Churubusco and Río de la Piedad. An 18-km (11.2 mi) route was completed in 1961. In 1974, the Circuito was extended to the south and west, which according to sources at the time resolved 50% of the intersections with severe traffic congestion, with the support of the additional controlled-access roads Río San Joaquin and Parque Vía, together with the construction of the feeder roads Tacuba, Los Hongos and Chapultepec.[2] Its eastern and western parts were finished in 1976.
Along its course, each section of the Circuito has a specific name: