Highway collapse near Cancun

Wow! What could have made this happen? This is the highway between Playa Del Carmen and Puerto Morelos, can't imagine the desmadre this has caused .

http://noticaribe.com.mx/2015/08/27/colapsa-carretera-cancun-playa-hundimiento-incomunica-a-de-los-2-principales-destinos-turisticos-de-qr-por-nuevo-xcan-ruta-alterna/

cenotes are sinkholes

There are a lot of underground rivers in the area that eat away sub-surface. Mother nature does what she does.

Once they figure out the size and the cause, they will have that road open in a week or less. This is the most important road in the area.

Probably they filled in a river/creek bed when building the road. That won't stop the water flow and the result with heavy rains can be as you see it.

artesialulu wrote:Probably they filled in a river/creek bed when building the road.  That won't stop the water flow and the result with heavy rains can be as you see it.

Artes, there are no surface rivers or creeks in this part of the Yucatan.  All the rain perks into the ground.  The entire areas natural water system is underground.  It makes for spectacular caves and contributes to the normally crystal clear Caribbean beaches.

We are going to Tulum in Oct. Do you think it will be repaired by then?

SunshineyDay wrote:We are going to Tulum in Oct. Do you think it will be repaired by then?

You are not in Kansas anymore Toto! I think it took the better part of 10 years to construct the Mazatlán bypass.

Well maybe Playaboy has an idea based on what he knows about the area.

Actually I haven't been to Kansas in 60 years.

Jim W wrote:

SunshineyDay wrote:We are going to Tulum in Oct. Do you think it will be repaired by then?

You are not in Kansas anymore Toto!   I think it took the better part of 10 years to construct the Mazatlán bypass.

Yeah, this doesn't seem like a simple thing to me. The roof of an underground cave filled with water has collapsed, creating the area's newest Cenote. Cenote 307, we shall call it. Even so, hwy 307 is such a major road so it's difficult to believe that it will be closed for long. That toll road detour is really long.
Whatever happens though, you will still be able to get to Tulum and in the big picture a 45 minute detour is not that big of a deal.
We just got back from two weeks in Cancun, spent a day in Tulum and a couple of nights in Akumal too. It was so much fun and The cenotes are amazing!

Now they have a place to put all that sargassum.  Plenty of the stuff around to fill that hole.      

They will have the road fixed in no time.  That highway is too important economically.  Repair costs are not a problem.  My best guess is; in less than 2 weeks the road will be repaired and you won't even know it happened.

Playaboy wrote:Now they have a place to put all that sargassum.  Plenty of the stuff around to fill that hole.      

They will have the road fixed in no time.  That highway is too important economically.  Repair costs are not a problem.  My best guess is; in less than 2 weeks the road will be repaired and you won't even know it happened.

I'm sure you are right, Playaboy. The roads there are impressive...wide lanes, well maintained , good signage ...and repair costs not a problem! Shoot, I had to chip in for supplies to repair the "cenote" that appeared in front of our house and it took two tries and considerably longer than two weeks.

They're called socavons.

Ms Thang, there is so much money flowing in this region, the number one tourist area in Mexico.  The taxes collected from the tourist industry is in the millions of pesos a day.  

No "chipping in" to fix things here.

There are public works project being built everywhere. They are building new resorts, homes, schools, parks, roads, malls and whole new towns.  We have new fire trucks, garbage trucks, and police cars.

They already are building a detour into the jungle around the problem area.  Here is an article from my local newspaper with a great picture.

http://www.poresto.net/ver_nota.php?zona=qroo&idSeccion=1&idTitulo=424181

.

Government doesn't mess around here.  Detour complete in less than 36 hours.

http://www.poresto.net/ver_nota.php?zona=qroo&idSeccion=4&idTitulo=424207

SunshineyDay wrote:We are going to Tulum in Oct. Do you think it will be repaired by then?

The highway has been repaired and opened to all traffic. I heard they brought in around 200 men and heavy equipment and worked non-stop thru the night.

http://www.riviera-maya-news.com/federal-highway-to-cancun-restored/2015.html

Wow!!

I saw three guys working on a pothole in Ajijic the other day.........

Did they finish the job?

CanuckBob wrote:I saw three guys working on a pothole in Ajijic the other day.........

Thanks for the laugh, amigo.

lunateak wrote:Did they finish the job?

They will have it finished "manana". After that only 1500 more to go........jaja.

There's always mañana!

CanuckBob wrote:I saw three guys working on a pothole in Ajijic the other day.........

I sense negativity in that post. If we don't work together to improve our community then who will?

All we need to know is the following:
--Did you get the names of those workers?
--Did they have official identification?
--What date, exactly, are you referring to?
--Where, exactly, was this alleged pothole located?
--How long did it take the work crew to fill that one, single hole?
--In your opinion, was that one, alleged, pothole filled in a satisfactory manner? Do you expect the repair to last?

Thank you for your participation. This report will go straight to the Delegado, and thus up to the Presidente. We expect prompt action and superior results.

Maybe they are repairing just one as a test case to see if it really improves things or if it  will just be a waste of time and money.  No sense in going overboard until they know if it works.