Snapshot: Mexico’s cable-stayed bridge projects

Three cable-stayed bridge projects have been started under the administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

All three concern passenger rail projects. 

The most recently launched one involves a portion of stretch five of the Maya train that will link Cancún international airport with vacation hub Tulum in Quintana Roo state. 

On Saturday, López Obrador announced in a video published on Twitter that, as part of the 121km stretch, his administration will build a cable-stayed bridge over the La Cueva Garra de Jaguar (Jaguar claw cave) to protect the archaeological and natural site. The cave is among the largest in the world and is part of the areas that environmentalists have asked the government to protect. 

Although few details about the project were provided, national institute of anthropology and history director Diego Prieto, who appeared next to López Obrador and Quintana Roo state governor Mara Lezama, said the bridge would be 290m long. 

The other two projects – awarded by infrastructure, communications and transportation ministry SICT at the end of 2021 – are part of the last stretch of the 58km, 93bn-peso (US$4.3bn) Mexico City-Toluca interurban train, which will link the capital with Toluca city in Mexico state. 

The first concerns the 600m Conagua-Manantial cable-stayed bridge that was awarded for 1.1bn pesos by the ministry at the end of September to a consortium led by Mexican infrastructure giant ICA. The consortium also includes Impulsora de Desarrollo Integral and Freyssinet de México.

The other contract involves the construction of a 92m double cantilever bridge, known as the western viaduct, to link Vasco de Quiroga station in Santa Fe district and the 600m Conagua-Manantial cable-stayed bridge. 

SICT awarded the 120mn-peso project to a consortium comprising Obrascón Huarte Lain (OHLA), formerly OHL, and Constructora de Proyectos Viales de México (CPVM), a local unit of OHLA's construction division.

Both bridges should be completed before the year ends, which is when the Maya train is expected to start operations.