With an inauguration ceremony led by Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama, the Kukulcán Interchange opened to traffic at 6 a.m. Sunday, cutting travel time between the Cancún International Airport, the Nichupté Bridge and the hotel zone.

The new federal government-led improvement follows the opening of the 11.2-kilometer Nichupté Bridge in May. The bridge, which consists of three lanes and a two-way bike path, connects the city’s residential area to its hotel zone, cutting commuting time by up to 50 minutes. It is thought to handle around 12,000 vehicles a day. 

The new connector allows vehicles traveling on Kukulcán Boulevard toward the airport to use an elevated one-way road, while those heading to downtown Cancún can use it to merge onto the Nichupté Bridge. 

Traffic heading from the airport to the city’s bustling Punta Cancún area will be directed to a one-way street behind Plaza Kukulcán, while traffic from the Nichupté Bridge to the airport will continue along Kukulcán Boulevard. 

The U-turn next to La Joya Hospital will remain closed to general traffic, with access only for local vehicles.

During the opening ceremony, Lezama emphasized that the new road project complements the Nichupté Bridge project and stressed that an opposite lane of the interchange is expected to open in the coming weeks.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has supported the city road project throughout, following in the footsteps of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who approved the development of the Nichupté Bridge.

“We secured it; you never hesitated; you always said yes,” Lezama said in reference to President Sheinbaum’s support of the Kukulcán Interchange project. 

With reports from López-Dóriga Digital and Excelsior