Mexico road potholes and national highway repair plan, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Potholes may be one of the most common complaints among drivers in Mexico, and according to Xataka México, the problem is shared by millions of motorists. The publication reports that even the national infrastructure secretariat has acknowledged that poor road conditions are a major public concern.
The statement was made at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, where Jesús Esteva Medina, head of the SICT, spoke to students of UPIICSA. According to the report, the official acknowledged that the deplorable state of roads is the top complaint from the public, and announced a historic budget of 50 billion pesos intended to address about 42% of the national road network.
The federal network covers 52,000 kilometers of highways, divided between 40,000 kilometers of free roads and 11,500 kilometers of toll roads. According to the official plan described in the article, the secretariat deploys vehicles that travel the full network once a week to map damage, with a system intended to locate cracks in real time and coordinate repair crews.
Among the planned projects are 4,554 kilometers of artisanal roads, funded with 32 million pesos, which would be built with local community participation to generate jobs. For high-speed highways, the SICT would take charge of 802 kilometers, while Banobras would control another 1,582 kilometers, using a combination of public and private capital.
In total, authorities promise to modernize 5,000 kilometers of main roads and add 4,200 kilometers of rural roads. The article notes that Esteva Medina said rural projects would not pass a traditional cost-benefit analysis, justified instead as a matter of social justice.
The publication also details the mechanical damage potholes can cause, from destroyed tires and bent rims to damaged shock absorbers and oil pan punctures that can lead to engine failure and repair bills of tens or hundreds of thousands of pesos. The article concludes that the effectiveness of the budget should be measured by how many drivers’ rims survive the current administration.
