It will serve as a major transportation backbone connecting the Isthmus region of the state to the capital of Oaxaca de Juárez.

The concession for the 169.23-kilometre (105.15 mi) highway was initially held by the Autovía unit of Empresas ICA but sold to IDEAL, a Carlos Slim company, in February 2017 after ICA entered into financial trouble, along with the concession to operate the Túnel Diamante in Acapulco.

The western segment connects San Pablo Villa Mitla to Santa María Albarradas.

The eastern segment of 40 kilometres (25 mi) opened in March 2016 and connects Mexico Federal Highway 185D, the bypass of the Istmo region, to Santiago Lachiguiri.

[8] CAS also operates the highway between Tuxtla Gutiérrez and San Cristóbal de las Casas, the two major cities in central Chiapas.