Several of the bridges built by Ingenieros Civiles y Asociados (ICA) to facilitate the operation of the Tren Maya on a toll road are reportedly of poor quality and showing signs of deterioration, according to vehicle drivers. The specific case in point is the bridge in Popolá.
For many years, the bridges that cross over the toll road and lead to other towns along this route operated normally without any issues.
However, with the Tren Maya project, ICA, which took charge of the fourth section of this iconic project of Mexico’s Fourth Transformation (4T), decided to demolish several of these structures and build new, higher ones so that the train could pass underneath without problems.
During the construction process, residents from various communities such as Yalcobá, Tesoco, Sisbicchén, Pixoy, and others protested due to the impact on their communal lands caused by the train route design and the extraction of materials from their ejidal banks. However, no compensation was paid to them.
After the bridges were completed, new complaints arose from vehicle drivers in several communities about the rapid deterioration of the pavement applied to the bridges.
In Yalcobá, potholes and cracks began to form on the bridge, which was reported at the time, prompting ICA to send a team to repair it. However, the situation has worsened, with people now expressing concerns that part of the bridge’s lanes may collapse at any moment due to the damage.
Additionally, one section of the Popolá bridge has already sunk and formed a hole, posing a risk to drivers. They claim that in various areas of the bridge, the deterioration is noticeable and no one has taken responsibility for addressing this problem.
