Cancun, Q.R. — The much-anticipated Cancun vehicle bridge over the Nichupté Lagoon is nearly finished construction. Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina, the Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), says the bridge is more than 90 percent complete.
Secretary Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina, who oversaw the project, says the bridge is an example of Mexican engineering. Once finished, it will reduced travel times 45 minutes and will serve as an alternate route in case of natural disasters.
Accompanied by the head of the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency , Andrés Lajous Loaeza, and the General Director of the Secretario de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes (SICT) Quintana Roo Center, Guido Mendiburu Solís, Esteva Medina pointed out that the bridge will transform mobility in Cancun, connecting the city with the hotel zone and boosting the social and economic development of the region.
He emphasized that once completed, the bridge will benefit 1.3 million residents and 20 million tourists who visit the area annually.
The project, an example of Mexican engineering, has generated around 51,000 direct and indirect jobs and will allow a savings of 45 minutes in travel times.
This iconic structure, which crosses the Nichupté Lagoon system, will be one of the longest bridges in Latin America over a lagoon and will serve as an alternate route in case of emergencies or natural disasters.
The project is a total length of 11.2 kilometers that consists of a bridge of 8.8 km with three lanes, one of them reversible, two junctions of 2.4 km (one on the side of the Luis Donaldo Colosio Boulevard and another on the Kukulcán Boulevard), as well as a 103 meter-long red metal arch.
The Nichupté Lagoon bridge was also constructed with bike paths.
It is a sustainable project, representing the largest environmental restoration program of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation with 306 hectares of mangrove reforestation.
During its construction, 10 environmental programs were implemented to minimize the impact and protect the mangrove ecosystem. He explained that 118 hectares of seagrass were rehabilitated and that 1,168 native vegetation specimens were rescued and more than 2,100 fauna specimens were relocated.
The bridge is scheduled to be inaugurated and operational by the end of this month.
