Opening an upgraded road in Sinaloa proved to be a popular event: more than 10,000 people turned out on Saturday for the inauguration of a 300-million-peso (US $15.6-million) road project in Culiacán.

Entire families including young children in strollers, thousands of university students and cyclists were among the massive contingent of revelers who participated in a celebratory parade down the widened Rolando Arjona Amábilis boulevard.

The upgrade project widened the road to six lanes and built two new bicycle lanes and two new bridges – one that distributes traffic to Pedro Infante boulevard and another spanning the Culiacán river.

Leading Saturday’s procession was Governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel, who said the opening of the project was cause for celebration because it “completely transforms transportation in Culiacán.”

“This is an avenue where more than 45,000 cars travel every day. It was a knot, a bottleneck, it couldn’t provide the mobility that was needed because there are a lot of universities [and] many neighborhoods [in the area],” he said.

The governor explained that hydraulic cement was used in the project, which he said will ensure the road’s durability into the future.

Ordaz described the modernized boulevard as “a state-of-the-art project” comparable to emblematic roads in Mexico City and Guadalajara.

As part of Saturday’s inauguration celebrations, five and 10-kilometer road races were held in three of the six lanes, with the winners sharing a total prize pool of 40,000 pesos (US $2,100).

Source: Milenio (sp)