Mérida, Yucatán — The street modernization project in the hotel zone is in its final phase: cables that until now were suspended on poles are being buried.
The governor, Rolando Zapata Bello, visited the site Monday and ceremonially disconnected the old lines so that workers can begin running new ones underground.
This will clear the streets in the hotel zone around avenidas Colón and Cupules, and calles 60 and 62, where the International Congress Center of Yucatán, “Powered by Samsung,” is quickly nearing completion.
The governor was accompanied by the secretary of public works, Daniel Quintal Ic, business chamber leaders, merchants and CFE staff.
Burying 706.8 linear meters of medium- and low-voltage cables will allow for the removal of poles and posts, easing pedestrian flow, said Zapata Bello.
Underground wiring technology will employ sensors to quickly resolve power failures, said CFE superintendent Jorge Solís Dávila.
Work has begun at 62 and Colón, and by weekend, will continue on 60 and Cupules, he said.
The entire street-modernization project is 90 percent complete, said Gilberto Enríquez y Soberanis, the director of the Institute for Construction and Conservation of Public Works in Yucatán (Inccopy). After poles are removed, some finishing work on the sidewalks will be due, he said.
Fifty-year-old water lines, made of asbestos and cement, were replaced with 2,189.6 linear meters of thermofused pipe, which allows for higher pressure and is more resistant to corrosion.
The street project was budgeted at 100 million pesos, a price tag justified by its safety and beautification aspects, officials said. Replacing the mishmash of poles will be 150 new trees.
The modernization plan includes 5,759.8 square meters of sidewalks and 17,890.1 of hydraulic concrete, placing 75 storm drains, 82 LED street lights, nine new traffic lights, 82 pedestrian signs and 152 signs for vehicles.
Source: Press release
