Work on new Progreso overpass begins in March
A 1.4-mile-long overpass will connect Progreso’s industrial port with the highway leading to Mérida, Yucatán’s governor promised.
Now dubbed Liberamiento Progreso to suggest the city is being liberated from traffic, the concept was rejected 20 years ago by local homeowners. But the idea was revived when trucks transporting goods between cargo ships and warehouses on land began overwhelming this coastal city’s busy streets.
The overpass starts at Calle 25 and covers Calle 82, which is just to the west of the shops and restaurants on the beachfront malecón and Calle 80 where cruise-ship passengers and other visitors are greeted.
The two-lane elevated road will reduce traffic, congestion, accidents, excessive noise, and pollution caused by the 12,000 vehicles and 1,400 heavy cargo containers transiting daily, said Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal. It will be 5.5 meters / 18 feet high and 9.8 meters / 32 feet wide.
Renderings show an attempt to make the overpass blend in, with park space and bike lanes to be installed in its shadows.
With a private investment of 1.5 billion pesos / US$77 million and a 30-year concession for the winning bidder, construction begins in March.
No private properties will be taken for the project, said Mayor Julián Zacarías Curi. Local residents were consulted door-to-door and have signed off on the project, he said.
