Road Conditon Nogales to Mazatlan UPDATE Northbound
This is my personal opinion based on having last driven this section of road 7 years ago. In general the road is worst.
From Nogales to just South of San Carlos the road is OK, not great. In another year or two with the increased truck traffic from the port expansion in Guaymas this road will become difficult as there appears to be insufficient maintenance.
From just South of Guaymas to just North of Culiacan is HORRIBLE. Yes they are trying to replace/rebuild this section of road in a lot of places but not enough to keep up on the deterioration of the the existing roadway. At the rate of new construction this section is only going to get worst. The road thu Cludad Obregon would be better as a graded dirt road and combined with the traffic made missing potholes almost impossible.
From just North of Culiacun to North side of Mazatlan had the best road surface. Even then we had to weave from lane to lane to miss potholes & long rough sections in the right lane. At times the rough road surface was across both lanes. This was the best road section on the way down.
Thu Mazatlan we took the free/old road. There was construction in a couple of places and with traffic funneling down to a single lane made driving thu Mazatlan more challenging than ever. We will take the new toll by-pass when we return North.
Being a retired Civil Engineer my observations are pretty accurate and critical. We will not take the Pacific Coast route again as we will take the inland route in the future. Just not worth the wear and tear on the rig. Even considering going inland to make the return trip home.
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
From Nogales to just South of San Carlos the road is OK, not great. In another year or two with the increased truck traffic from the port expansion in Guaymas this road will become difficult as there appears to be insufficient maintenance.
From just South of Guaymas to just North of Culiacan is HORRIBLE. Yes they are trying to replace/rebuild this section of road in a lot of places but not enough to keep up on the deterioration of the the existing roadway. At the rate of new construction this section is only going to get worst. The road thu Cludad Obregon would be better as a graded dirt road and combined with the traffic made missing potholes almost impossible.
From just North of Culiacun to North side of Mazatlan had the best road surface. Even then we had to weave from lane to lane to miss potholes & long rough sections in the right lane. At times the rough road surface was across both lanes. This was the best road section on the way down.
Thu Mazatlan we took the free/old road. There was construction in a couple of places and with traffic funneling down to a single lane made driving thu Mazatlan more challenging than ever. We will take the new toll by-pass when we return North.
Being a retired Civil Engineer my observations are pretty accurate and critical. We will not take the Pacific Coast route again as we will take the inland route in the future. Just not worth the wear and tear on the rig. Even considering going inland to make the return trip home.
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
