Construction on the planned 95.5-kilometer bypass around the city of Querétaro to improve traffic flow on the troubled Mexico-Querétaro highway will be privately funded to the tune of 9.57 billion pesos (US $515 million) but probably won’t start until late 2027

Grupo Omega, the project’s concessionaire, said that the Querétaro Metropolitan Bypass “will improve the performance of the Mexico-Querétaro highway, one of the busiest highways in the country, and will reduce traffic pressure in the Querétaro metropolitan area, which concentrates long-distance traffic.”

Omega is responsible for the design, construction and operation of the project, and since it operates as a concession, will handle toll collection for a period of 30 years.

The road project will begin at approximately kilometer 142 of Federal Highway 57, at the Palmillas toll booth on the Mexico City–Querétaro section, and will end at kilometer 33 of the same corridor on the  Querétaro–San Luis Potosí section. 

The project also includes a 2.3-kilometer connecting branch to the city of Querétaro, which will start at kilometer 61.7 of the Querétaro Metropolitan Bypass and connect to State Highway 200, which links Querétaro with Tequisquiapan.

It will boast four traffic lanes  — two in each direction — as well as side shoulders, a main road, and intermediate junctions in San Juan del Río, Peña de Bernal, Querétaro International Airport and elsewhere.

Plans for the project also include 158 cross drainage works, 12 overpasses for vehicles, 43 underpasses for vehicles and five railway overpasses, 35 overpasses for agricultural machinery, five bridges and two viaducts.

Beyond its impact on mobility, the bypass is shaping up to be an economic catalyst for communities and industrial corridors in eastern Querétaro state, as well as 12 municipalities in nearby states such as San Miguel de Allende and San José Iturbide in Guanajuato, Polotitlá in Mexico state, and Huichapan, Nopala de Villagrán and Tecozautla in Hidalgo.

Querétaro state Public Works Minister José Pío X Salgado told the newspaper Publimetro that Grupo Omega expects to begin construction at the end of 2027 after it finishes securing the right-of-way, which currently stands at 60%. 

However, he added that the company will try to secure 100% of the right-of-way this year to begin construction as soon as possible. 

With reports from Forbes