However, David Omar Calderón Hallal, the agency’s general director of Highway Maintenance, indicated that these projects present challenges such as an increase in the vehicle fleet, excessive loads , insufficient resources, weather conditions, security, among others.

He specified that the budget for 2025 alone is 15.842 billion pesos (mdp), which will improve 2% of the network, while for next year they expect it to be 19.812 billion pesos, and for 2030, 24.75 billion pesos.

“By 2030, we will have very acceptable results in the physical condition of our roads, with 60% in good condition and 40% in average condition. This means they need to provide us with resources,” he explained during his participation in Dialogues with Engineers, organized by the College of Civil Engineers of Mexico (CICM).

Héctor Lases Mina, coordinator of the CICM Transportation Infrastructure Committee, mentioned that it is a very ambitious program , as he defined it, since for years there have been cuts in resources for the country’s road maintenance, which generates serious problems since if these works are not carried out for one year, “the level of deterioration is exponential.”

“If we skip maintenance work one year, the investment needs will triple in the year they are completed, leading to an unsafe road network, which raises the transportation costs of people, raw materials, and all the cargo handled in the country, and creates a complicated security scenario. Therefore, maintenance becomes a key issue,” he said.

He stated that it is worrying that resources remain insufficient because the country remains one of those that invests no more than 3.1% of its total resources in this area.

He also commented that weight and dimension regulations are essential to prevent further disruptions to the network, which is why it is necessary to increase the number of inspection points and apply the corresponding sanctions to those who do not comply with the regulations.

David Omar Calderón Hallal recalled that in the last 12 years alone, only about 300 kilometers of the network were rebuilt ; the rest underwent carpet treatments, although more projects are pending.

While at the start of the current administration, of the 40,548.03 kilometers of toll-free network, 32% were in good condition, 34% in fair condition, and 34% in poor condition.

These figures have been modified due to the cumulative investment of 6.803 billion pesos through 2025, which would result in a 36% good rating, 34% average rating, and 30% poor rating at the end of the year.

“Road maintenance faces the enormous challenge of balancing the need to maintain and improve infrastructure with the reality of scarce financial resources. To achieve this, it is essential that the government, the construction industry, academia, and society at large work together to overcome these challenges,” he stated.

He insisted that making an appropriate and strategic investment in road maintenance is essential to preserving existing infrastructure and avoiding future cost overruns.

He also said that given the increasing number of vehicles and excessive loads, climate change, and the aging of the road infrastructure, a redesign of the pavement structure is required on a large portion of the existing network.

Regarding the bidding process, Calderón Hallal stated that all the calls for proposals for this year have already been issued; only the one for the remaining 20 paving trains is needed. He said that 381 million pesos have been allocated for the first 10 trains.

Comment and follow us on X:  @evandeltoro  /  @GrupoT21

(Photo: T21)