The Mérida-Progreso highway is fully open again, and the bridge to Chelem is being rebuilt next

The federal Mérida-Progreso highway reopened in both directions on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, after the bridge at kilometer 34.1 on the Progreso-to-Mérida carriageway was rebuilt. Drivers bound for Chelem, Chuburná Puerto and Yucalpetén now need a detour instead: the SICT has moved its crews to the Yucalpetén II bridge on the old Progreso-Chelem road, which is closed for about eight weeks.

The kilometer 34.1 bridge, on the exit from Progreso toward Mérida, had been closed since the start of September, almost 50 days in all, according to Diario de Yucatán. Mexico's infrastructure and transport ministry, the SICT, had said through its Yucatán office that the road would reopen on Monday, October 19, between 10:00 a.m. and noon. The final road markings and cleanup ran into that Monday, and the road opened on the Tuesday: from 6:00 a.m., according to the SICT as reported by Poder y Crítica and Por Esto, and before midday, according to Diario de Yucatán, after officials inspected the new bridge and painted the center line.

What was done at kilometer 34.1

The work rebuilt the bridge and relocated the main drinking-water pipeline, which connects to the pumping station at Calle 80 and 39. A new section of steel pipe now runs on a metal frame along the east side of the bridge, to prevent future ruptures in the main network. While the bridge was shut, traffic leaving Progreso shared the inbound carriageway, which ran in both directions; Poder y Crítica reported waits of up to two hours at peak times. That inbound bridge had itself been rebuilt before the summer holidays.

The road to Chelem: closed until about mid-December

The Yucalpetén II bridge is part of the SICT's bridge reconstruction program. Its demolition was first scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, but was postponed to Tuesday, October 20, Diario de Yucatán reported, because the old Progreso-Chelem road was the only way out for trailers and trucks carrying octopus from the port of Yucalpetén while the main exit was shut. With the highway open again, those trucks can use the Mérida road, and Diario de Yucatán reported on October 21 that the demolition would take place during that week.

The closed section runs from the interchange at kilometer 32.5 of the Mérida-Progreso highway to the roundabout at the entrance to Yucalpetén. The deck, parapets and beams come off first; the existing abutments are then jacketed to strengthen the structure below, and ten new beams, a new deck and new parapets go in. The SICT puts the work at about two months with the road fully closed, and has not published a reopening date. Eight weeks from October 20 points to mid-December.

The detour for Yucalpetén, Chelem and Chuburná Puerto is to drive into Progreso itself and continue along the branch road to Yucalpetén. Coming the other way, drivers from Chelem and Chuburná heading for Mérida cross the bridge that joins the two shores of the port of Yucalpetén. The SICT asks drivers to obey the signs, keep to the speed limits and allow extra time.

For anyone driving up from Quintana Roo to spend part of the winter on Yucatán's Gulf coast, the main road into Progreso is back to normal, and the beach towns west of the port are reached, for now, through Progreso itself.

Sources: Centro SICT Yucatán, via Diario de Yucatán, October 14, 19 and 21, 2026; Por Esto, October 14 and 20, 2026; Poder y Crítica, October 20, 2026; Yucatán a la Mano, October 20, 2026.