With the recent opening of a new stretch of highway, drivers can travel from Mérida to Playa del Carmen in two hours and 50 minutes, paying $319 pesos in tolls. Diario de Yucatán now questions if the transpeninsular train is even worth the investment.
These new branches of the Mérida-Cancún highway have a total crown width of 12 meters, with two asphalt lanes of 3.5 meters each and 2.5-meter-wide shoulders, according to a report from the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation.
How the new alternative for reaching the Caribbean breaks down:
[table]
Part of trip,Toll,Distance,Speed Limit,Travel Time
Mérida-Kantunil, free, 65 km, 90 km/hour, 43 mins
Kantunil-El Tintal, $319 pesos, 192 km, 110 km/hour, 1 hour 45 mins
El Tintal-Playa, $75 pesos, 44 km, 110 km/hour, 24 minutes
[/table]
The route via Tulum is longer and more time consuming, though less expensive, because it’s mostly freeway. Total distance is 326 miles; average speed 90 km/hour and travel time is three hours, 40 minutes.
The road connection also facilitates fuel savings and the delivery of goods between the Riviera and the state Capital.
Source:Diario de Yucatán
