Completion of Cancún’s Nichupté bridge delayed to December

The 11.2-kilometer-long Nichupté Vehicular Bridge — a captious infrastructure task connecting downtown Cancún and its bustling edifice portion — volition unfastened successful December, 4 months aboriginal than expected.

The long-delayed task is expected to payment 1.3 cardinal residents of the edifice city, prevention commuters up to 45 minutes successful question clip and service arsenic an important evacuation way during hurricane season.

The bridge’s elevated plan protects the Nichupté Lagoon ecosystem. (Elizabeth Ruíz/Cuartoscuro)

José Antonio Esteva, curate of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), provided an update connected the task during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday greeting property conference.

Esteva said determination are presently 714 workers and 123 machines operating astatine 5 progressive enactment sites. He besides confirmed a fund overrun of astir 2.9 cardinal pesos (US $145 million).

“We expect to walk 2.1 cardinal pesos (US $108 million) this twelvemonth to implicit the bridge,” Esteva said. 

This volition bring the full outgo of the span to 8.6 cardinal pesos (US $440.5 million). Construction institution ICA primitively budgeted 5.6 cardinal pesos (US $286 million) for the project.

The 14.9-km-long task features an 8.8 km, three-lane span implicit the Nichupté Lagoon and volition payment 1.3 cardinal residents arsenic good arsenic the millions of tourists who sojourn the Caribbean resort.

Most of the span volition beryllium elevated supra the lagoon connected stilts. It volition besides diagnostic a 103-meter metallic suspension span section.

Sheinbaum visited the site with Quintana Roo Gov. Mara Lezama and ICA CEO Guadalupe Phillips successful April. At the time, with the span 78% completed, Sheinbaum said it would beryllium operational by November.

Originally expected to beryllium completed precocious past year, the SICT had targeted an August inauguration aft design modifications were required successful January. The alterations became indispensable erstwhile respective maritime portion permits were denied connected biology grounds.

Nichupté Lagoon’s earthy quality draws kayakers and quality lovers — adjacent arsenic large infrastructure similar the caller span takes signifier nearby. (Greenpeace/Cuartoscuro)

Additional delays were caused by the summation of a metallic arch conception to supply other support, upgrades to tempest drainage systems to forestall lagoon contamination, and the installation of an Intelligent Transportation System to negociate postulation travel much efficiently. 

Once operational, the bridge’s direct, elevated way implicit the Nichupté Lagoon volition easiness the load connected existent roads and sharply trim question times for residents heading to enactment and tourists heading to resorts oregon adjacent attractions. 

With reports from The Cancún Sun, Reportur and Por Esto!