Cancun, Q.R. — Sinkholes are not a problem only in Quintana Roo but is rather a soil issue found throughout the entire Peninsula. Adrián Martínez Ortega, state coordinator of Civil Protection says that the highway sinkhole outside Puerto Aventuras and the roadway crack outside Cancun are being worked on and that they are not a problem exclusive to the state.
He says the Government of Quintana Roo has already asked the Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT) to verify the entire state road system to prevent landslides and future sinkholes, but admits they do not have a way to forecast such events.
“There are no forecasts, but the truth is that the state is in an area that has a phenomenon called casticity, it is the one that gives rise to all the caverns and cenotes that we have in the region. We have an area of flooded caves that causes us to have these holes. That is why we have talked with the SCT, to see how they are going to be repaired.”
He explained that the roadway problem that arose between Cancun and Playa del Carmen is due to a particular phenomenon that affects the entire Yucatan Peninsula, but only 20 percent of the country, adding that they are conducting the necessary soil studies to determine if it is feasible to make an alternate lane.
Fonatur, who has since taken over those sections of highway due to upcoming Maya Train work, has said that that the highway crack outside Cancun will be fully repaired by November, prior to the high tourist season, and also because construction of section five of the Maya Train is expected to begin in October.
