TIJUANA.- According to the Secretary of Communications and Transportation (SCT) and the Federal Highway and Bridges agency (CAPUFE), the stretch of highway off Salsipuedes Bay that has been closed now for almost a year will once again be open to traffic starting today at midnight.

Repairs have been ongoing since December 28, 2013 when a stretch of the highway collapsed due to a small earthquake. The stretch was already notoriously unstable, and repairs to the highway were prolonged due to rainwater drain issues in addition to the eroding ground which runs over a fault line.

The authorities have been heavily criticized over the past year, and especially since September of this year after the scheduled reopening was postponed until December. For drivers, the only option was the two lane free road that is considered quite dangerous and is and not well-equipped for a high volume of traffic, or the Tecate free road, which adds on at least two hours to the trip to Tijuana.

Ensenada has been greatly effected by the road closure, given that the scenic road is not only the main artery for local commerce and residents, but for tourism as well. In the past weeks, protesters have turned out at the toll booth to demand a certain date for the reopening after authorities grew silent, causing fears that the reopening would be further delayed.

Although the road has reopened, repair work will continue underway until April 2015 while authorities install protective netting and subterranean infrastructure.

While repair work was underway, the highway authorities took advantage of the road closure to repave the highway and repair on-ramps and off-ramps along the road. Last week, an on-ramp located at Kilometer 58 was reopened.

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