The federal government on Wednesday presented a 173-billion-peso (US $8.4 billion) plan to upgrade highways across Mexico, an initiative President Claudia Sheinbaum described as “extremely important.”
At her morning press conference, Sheinbaum said that “expansion” and “major maintenance” projects will be carried out on a large number of Mexico’s highways, many of which are in “the most vulnerable areas of the country.”
“It’s a very interesting, extremely important program,” she said.
“… We allocated a very large part of the resources to the most vulnerable areas — for the good of all the poor come first,” Sheinbaum said, using a favorite slogan of former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, her predecessor and mentor.
The highway plan “has to do with connecting the country to strengthen economic development and improve people’s living conditions,” Sheinbaum said.
Mexico’s Federal Infrastructure, Communications and Transport Minister Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina gave a detailed rundown of the National Highway Infrastructure Program (PNIC), in which some 4,000 kilometers of highway will be upgraded.
He spoke about highway projects already underway and work that will commence later this year and in 2026.
Among Mexico’s cities set to benefit from the projects are Cancún, Pachuca, Toluca, Zihuatanejo, Tampico, Saltillo and Guaymas.
Projects scheduled for completion in 2025
Esteva first spoke about four ongoing projects, in which close to 16 billion pesos (US $782.6 million) was invested:
- A 16.8-kilometer highway upgrade between Real del Monte and Huasca in Hidalgo. The project is due to be completed in March.
- A 2.1-kilometer project in the municipality of La Concordia, Chiapas, that includes the construction of two bridges. The project is scheduled for completion in October.
- The 11.2-kilometer Nichupté Bridge in Cancún, Quintana Roo. The bridge is slated for completion in August.
- A 96.2-kilometer highway upgrade between San Ignacio, Sonora, and Tayoltita, Durango. The project is due to be completed in May.
Projects scheduled to start this year and next
Esteva presented 10 major “priority” highway projects, seven of which are scheduled to start either next month or in April. The total projected outlay on the 10 projects is 118.47 billion pesos. The work is forecast to create almost 330,000 jobs.
In various cases, only certain sections of the highways between the cities listed below, rather than the entire highways, will be upgraded.
Projects to start in March
- A 1.86-billion-peso, 69-kilometer highway upgrade between Bavispe, Sonora, and Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua. The project is expected to take one year and create 17,543 jobs.
- A 124-million-peso, 7-kilometer bypass and bridge project in the state of Morelos. The Tierra y Libertad Circuit and Jojutla Bridge project is expected to take one year and create 1,455 jobs.
- A 28.27-billion-peso, 478-kilometer highway upgrade project between Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, and Zihuatanejo, Guerrero. The highway between the two cities runs for almost 900 kilometers, with over half of the distance to be modernized. The project is expected to take five years and create 84,822 jobs.
- An 11.2-billion-peso, 130-kilometer highway upgrade project between Macuspana, Tabasco, and Escárcega, Campeche. The project is expected to take four years and create 33,591 jobs.
Projects to start in April
- A 13.5-billion-peso, 382-kilometer highway upgrade project between Cuautla, Morelos, and Marquelia, Guerrero, via Tlapa, Guerrero. The project, which also runs through part of the state of Puebla, will widen the highway from two lanes to four. The project is expected to take five years and create 40,506 jobs.
- A 6.67-billion-peso, 97-kilometer highway upgrade project between Pachuca, Hidalgo, and Tamazunchale, San Luis Potosí, via Huejutla, Hidalgo. The project is expected to take three years and create 20,022 jobs.
- An 18.6-billion-peso, 317-kilometer highway upgrade project between Toluca, the capital of México state, and the Guerrero resort city of Zihuatanejo. The project is expected to take six years and create 55,776 jobs.
Projects to start in 2026
- A 6.39-billion-peso, 67-kilometer highway upgrade project between Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí, and Tampico, Tamaulipas. The project is expected to take four years and create 19,191 jobs.
- A 7.72-billion-peso, 85-kilometer highway upgrade project between Saltillo and Monclova in the northern border state of Coahuila. The project is expected to take five years and create 23,172 jobs.
- An 18.14-billion-peso, 347-kilometer highway upgrade project between Guaymas, Sonora, and the Sonora-Chihuahua border near Yécora. The project is expected to take four years and create 33,591 jobs.
Other PNIC projects
Esteva also detailed a range of other National Highway Infrastructure Program initiatives. They include:
- The Oaxaca Highway Program, in which 6 billion pesos will be invested to carry out eight highway projects to improve connectivity between various cities and towns in the southern state.
- The Guerrero Highway Program, in which almost 1.9 billion pesos will be invested to build new bridges and widen and repair existing ones. The state of Guerrero bore the brunt of Hurricane Otis in 2023 and Hurricane John last year.
- The execution of 18 bridge, viaduct and traffic circle projects on the federal highway network. More than 11.8 billion pesos will be invested in the projects, which will be carried out in Mexico City, Colima, Querétaro, Quintana Roo and Veracruz, among other states.
- The execution of five “mixed investment” (private-public) projects, to which the government will contribute more than 30 billion pesos. They include a new bypass that links to the Tijuana-Ensenada highway and an international bridge project in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.
Esteva also highlighted that the current government has carried out minor highway maintenance work, such as the repair of potholes and the removal of weeds, along 33,000 kilometers of road, or about three-quarters of the federal highway network.
Mexico News Daily
