/ Modified aug 21, 2019 11:28 a.m.

Promised inauguration of Sonoran highway called off

Three dates have been set and missed for completion of the highway that runs from Sinaloa to the Arizona border.

Last month, Mexico’s president announced he would inaugurate a long-awaited four-lane highway in neighboring Sonora, Mexico, this September. Now, the inauguration has been called off because construction on the roadway is still not done.

sonora highway 15 VIEW LARGER Sonora's Highway 15 stretches from the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales to the border with the Mexican state of Sinaloa at Don Estación.
Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has now set and missed three deadlines to complete the four-lane highway that runs about 400 miles from Sinaloa to Nogales, at Arizona's southern border.

In March, he said the project would be done by April or May. Then, in May he apologized for missing the proposed deadline and said the construction would be completed in June.

In July he announced the highway would be done by the end of August, and he would inaugurate the completed interstate during a visit to Sonora on Sept. 2.

Now, a representative for his administration says that won’t happen.

“He’s not going to inaugurate the project,” said state delegate Jorge Taddei on Monday. “But he will surely comment on the difficulties and the great advances, although it’s not entirely completed yet.”

So far, a new date hasn’t been set to finish construction on the highway.

Fronteras Desk
This story is from the Fronteras Desk, a collaboration of Southwestern public radio stations, including NPR 89.1. Read more from the Fronteras Desk.
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