The bridge at the junction of Periférico with the Progreso highway was built 24 years ago (1994), when Periferico’s Annual Average Daily Traffic was 5,400 vehicles, but today, this number has increased almost twenty times, and the daily average went up to 100,000 motor vehicles circulating everyday around Periférico.
The Periférico, which measures 50 km in length (31 miles), has 3 lanes in each of the 2 bodies, however, when motorits driving on Periférico reach the Progreso exit, the road is reduced to 2 lanes, situation that forces other vehicles to dangeroulsy invade the central lanes.
On the other hand, the Periférico bridge that passes over the exit of Calle 60 towards Progreso, was not designed for vehicles traveling at a speed of more than 90 kilometers per hour (50 mph).
Therefore, this turns out to be a road with insufficient and unsafe capacity, and a road interchange needs to be built in this junction, to permit traffic on four different directions to pass through the junction without directly crossing the other traffic stream.
The Construction of a new Road Interchange on the Mérida – Progreso highway will feature:
1) Enlargement of the 2 structures to increase the capacity from 2 to 4 lanes of circulation in each body, going from 9.5 meters wide to 17.5 meters in each body (8 meters wider),in order to accommodate:
- – 3 lanes of circulation 3.5 meters-wide each.
- – 1 entrance and exit lane on intersecting roads, 3.5 meters-wide.
- – Side road spaces ,2.5 meters-wide.
2) Expansion of the 3 intersecting roads, with exclusive lanes to allow entrance and exit, in and out of Periférico.
3) Reconstruction of the overpass and the junction of Calle 60 and Progreso highway.
New Road Interchange will bring the following benefits:
- – Comfortable, agile and safe road operation for more than 100,000 vehicles that circulate everyday on Periférico.
- – Better visibility on the ascent and descent ramps, maintaining the driving speed of 90 km / hour in a safe way.
- – Reduction of traffic accidents risk.
- – Better circulation in the intersecting roads, facilitating the incorporation to secondary roads.
- – Shorter travel times, better connectivity with the main roadways, more efficient and safe driving.
- – More than 600,000 motorists from Mérida, Progreso, Xcanatún, San Ignacio, Chablekal and other communities will benefit from this project, as well as regional, national and international tourism.
- -The project will allow alternative roads to be added.
Source: Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes
