For more than two years, thousands of drivers traveling along Avenida Internacional in Tijuana, one of the city’s busiest corridors running parallel to a section of the U.S.-Mexico border fence, have witnessed the construction of a large-scale elevated highway. On Friday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was in Tijuana to inaugurate the first section of the nearly 7-mile project. Once completed, the Viaducto Elevado will run in both directions between Playas de Tijuana and Tijuana International Airport. The $800 million project was built by the Mexican military, to whom Sheinbaum thanked for “this beautiful project, now open to all Baja Californians.” Construction of the elevated highway was announced in 2021 by then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Initially, it was expected to be completed before the end of his six-year term in 2024. The project aims to improve connectivity in key areas of Tijuana, such as the international airport, the San Ysidro border crossing, Zona Centro, or downtown, Playas de Tijuana, and the highway to Rosarito and Ensenada. Abraham Nañez and Livia López walk along a section of a newly constructed elevated highway Friday in Tijuana. (David Maung / For The San Diego Union-Tribune) “Starting today, and going forward, people will begin to notice changes in this city’s mobility,” said Gen. Raúl Manzano, the lead project engineer. “We are going to ease traffic on the main avenues and in the downtown area, and people will see the effects in a very short time.” Manzano thanked the public for their patience during construction on Tijuana’s Avenida Internacional, which often resulted in traffic jams due to partial road closures. He said that construction crews had to work around the soil’s characteristics, the region’s seismic risk conditions and “a series of events that, meter by meter and kilometer by kilometer, challenged the engineering, but which we were able to resolve.” The Mexican military has overseen other major projects in the border region, such as the construction of the Mexican section of the future Otay Mesa East Port of Entry and the overhaul of the San Antonio de los Buenos wastewater treatment plant. The first section, which opened on Friday, spans 4.5 miles and has two lanes in each direction. It runs in great part over Tijuana’s Avenida Internacional, linking Playas de Tijuana to the area around the San Ysidro border crossing and downtown Tijuana. Parts of the highway are visible from the San Diego border. Sheinbaum and her security detail were among the first to use it after the ribbon-cutting ceremony. It hadn’t yet opened to the public as of 5 p.m. The second, 2.5-mile section will extend the elevated highway all the way to Tijuana International Airport. It is expected to be completed next month, officials said. Mexican officials estimated that, once the project is fully completed, traveling along the highway will take 12 minutes, whereas it currently takes an average of 34 minutes or more using the currently available route, depending on traffic. More than 6,440 jobs were created directly and indirectly during the three-and-a-half-year planning and construction process, officials said. Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila called the elevated highway a “major project” and emphasized that it was designed to facilitate the safe and efficient flow of traffic. She also highlighted the construction of an over half-mile tunnel and modern lanes as key components of the project. Ávila reiterated that the elevated highway will be toll-free. “This viaduct is already part of Tijuana’s new face,” she said. “A face that looks to the future with order, mobility and social justice.” The roadway opened amid concerns, as some residents in areas adjacent to the not-yet-opened second section claimed that the construction affected their homes. The Mexican president said at a press conference on Friday, prior to the inauguration, that these concerns will be addressed. Sheinbaum’s visit to Tijuana came one day after her call with President Donald Trump. Both leaders described the call as “productive” on their respective social media accounts and said it focused on border and trade issues. From the site where the inauguration ceremony took place, a few steps from the U.S.-Mexico border fence, Sheinbaum expressed solidarity with Mexican immigrants living in the U.S. and emphasized their contributions to the California economy. Later on her Instagram account, she posted a photo of the highway project with the statement: “Bridges are always better than walls.” ...read more read less