Residents Lift Yucatán Highway Blockade After Officials Pledge to Update Federal Road Project

Río Lagartos, Yucatán — Traffic is flowing again on the Tizimín–Río Lagartos federal highway after residents of Río Lagartos and Las Coloradas agreed to end a blockade they began Friday to demand upgrades to the road serving eastern Yucatán.

The residents removed the barricade on Sunday after Omar Pérez Avilés, secretary general of government for Yucatán, traveled to Río Lagartos to personally present the commitments reached at a Saturday negotiating session between community representatives and officials from all three levels of government.

Protest shut junction to coastal communities

The dispute began Friday, Oct. 30, when residents closed the junction connecting Río Lagartos, Las Coloradas and San Felipe to press for the widening and improvement of the Tizimín–Río Lagartos highway, a federally controlled road.

The protest disrupted travel for residents, workers, service providers and visitors who use the highway as the main route to the state’s northeastern coast.

SICT ordered to review and update technical plan

Under the agreement, the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) must review and update the technical project for the highway — one of the communities’ central demands.

The two sides also set a schedule meant to keep the talks from stalling. The first follow-up meeting must be held within 15 days, with sessions every 30 days after that to brief residents on progress and on the steps taken.

Saturday’s talks included SICT and Interior Secretariat officials representing the federal government; representatives of the Secretariat of Infrastructure for Wellbeing and Yucatán’s highway infrastructure institute; and municipal authorities from Río Lagartos.

Reopening the road restores access to Río Lagartos and Las Coloradas, two communities whose economies rely mainly on tourism, fishing and commerce. The closure had weighed on those sectors by limiting the movement of visitors, suppliers and residents to the main points along the coast.

Though the road is open again, the deal does not mean construction will start immediately. As of Sunday, the concrete commitment was to update the federal technical plan and hold regular follow-up meetings, leaving residents watching to see whether the proposals turn into actual work to improve the highway.