Cancun, Q.R. — After confirmation of a December opening, the Nichupté Vehicular Bridge has been delayed. At least according to the Agencia de Proyectos Estratégicos del Estado (Agepro). Completed construction of the bridge continues to hover around 87 percent and will not be ready until next year, the agency said, however, the SICT says it will be.
The update was provided October 6 during a progress report by the State Strategic Projects Agency (Agepro) to the the Sustainable Urban Development and Metropolitan Affairs Commission. Agepro General Director Carlos Flores Hidalgo, said that the Nichupté bridge will not be completed or inaugurated in December, but sometime next year.
During his Monday report, he said the bridge is 87.7 percent done but still requires more than 753 million pesos of federal resources to finish it. He reported that while the project was expected to be completed this year, the the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) has consistently changed the completion date due to funding issues.
“We knew this year was predicted but I understand that the SICT has made these constant changes to the project’s completion, likely due to funding issues.
“Our president revived this project at the beginning of her administration and sometimes these are internal efforts that have to be considered as part of the federal investment programs and projects currently underway,” he said.
“As for its completion, the intention is for it to be completed next year. We are awaiting for a specific date,” he added.
Flores Hidalgo explained that the remaining 13 percent of incomplete work consists primarily of joining sections of the bridge including the Cancun Hotel Zone interchange.
Work also needs to be done on the bike path, signage and lighting, as well as the installation of video surveillance cameras, which will need to be installed in coordination with the Secretariat of Citizen Security.
However, the SICT says the bridge will still be delivered in December. On Monday during the Congress report, SICT head for Quintana Roo, Guido Mendiburu, responded to statements made by Agepro, saying that the Nichupté Vehicular Bridge will be delivered by the end of this year.
“I don’t know what the head of Agepro is basing his claim on that the Nichupté Bridge won’t be finished in December. What I do know is that our commitment is to finish it in December and we’re working toward that goal,” said Mendiburu.
The SICT official assured congress that the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation has the necessary resources to complete the project on time and ruled out financial problems that could hinder its progress.
“It’s important to note that we have the necessary resources to finish,” he noted on Monday.
On October 3, construction company ICA they are still dismantling of the Top Down engineering system on the Nichupté Vehicular Bridge. “This equipment was used to complete the drilling, scoring, foundation, and overhead pouring, as well as minimize interference with the diverse habitats and ecosystems found in the Nichupté Lagoon.”
To date, the government has invested 7.8 billion pesos in the construction of the Nichupté Vehicular Bridge. The finished bridge is expected to transport more than 1.3 million residents and millions of visitors per year.
