Pueblo Nuevo Bridge

Pueblo Nuevo Bridge
Puente Pueblo Nuevo
Pueblo Nuevo, Durango, Mexico
384 feet high / 117 meters high
348 foot span / 106 meter span
2013

The huge Pueblo Nuevo is one of the highest concrete beam bridges on the Durango-Mazatlán highway in Durango and Sinaloa states. By cutting a safer, more direct route through the mountains, the highway department of Mexico hopes to improve trade and increase tourism between the city of Durango and the coastal city of Mazatlán. To achieve this connection, the Mexican engineers were forced to design an autopista with no less than 63 tunnels - nearly 10 times more than have ever been built on any road in North America. For big bridge fans, the highway will be no less amazing with a parade of towering concrete beam bridges. Including Baluarte, there will be 8 bridges that exceed 300 feet (90 mtrs) in height including Santa Lucia, Neverías, La Pinta, Chico, Botijas, Pueblo Nuevo and El Carrizo. Only China’s West Hurong and Kunming-Guiyang and Italy’s A3 highways have a greater collection of high bridges.

The central pier of Pueblo Nuevo rises 115 meters and supports two equal sized spans of 106 meters with two side spans of 55 meters. The beam is 4.6 meters deep.

Map of the Durango-Mazatlan highway showing the location of the 9 highest bridges and 59 of the 63 tunnels. The Neverías and Rio Chico bridges were completed between 2005 and 2008 and are open to traffic. The rest of the highway will open in 2013.