Mexico is already gearing up for its big bi-centennial Independence celebration in 2010. One of the most visible activities is the massive road construction projects. I recently drove from Jalapa on the central east coast inland to Pachuca, San Miguel de Allende, then directly north to Laredo and on the return trip I headed south from Del Rio through Zacatecas and Queretaro. All along this route I encountered both new super highways and local road construction. This makes sense since this is the heartland of the movement for Mexican Independence.

The trip from Jalapa to San Miguel is one that has usually taken me 9 to 10 hours to complete. The route follows #140 towards Tlaxcala, then #45 toward San Juan del Rio. These routes pass though small towns connected by narrow two lane roads which were interesting to see the first time. On subsequent trips, however, the road became a security risk and always seemed excruciatingly slow. The two lane roads, often filled with potholes, were difficult to maneuver and the day was filled with the endless game of passing and re-passing big trucks and semi-trailers whose intent is to drive as fast as possible. I was resigned to the same slow drive so you can imagine my surprise, then, during this last trip when I discovered that almost the whole route is now a major toll highway. The time for the trip has been cut by at least 2 hours and the safety factor by many times that. Almost in the middle of nowhere is the brand new Arco del Norte (North Arch) toll road that passes through the States of Tlaxcala and Puebla. It is as modern as they come and goes all the way to Queretaro. It might be expected that major routes between regions of Mexico would be connected by fine highways but it was a complete surprise to see the major construction that is also being done on the lesser roads. The road into San Miguel from Queretaro and the highway out from it to Dolores Hidalgo are being totally re-built and it looks as if they will grow from 2 lanes to perhaps 3 or even a divided 4. (Mexico has a lot of roads that are, in effect, 3 lanes…the rule of the road is that a car will move onto the shoulder to let a faster car pass.)

However, anyone driving during the construction phase needs to be very careful since the process has a typical Mexican flavor. Heavy equipment is seen all over and will often enter the highway unannounced. The edges of the roads are unmarked and many drop straight down for 5 feet. If there is a flag man he is usually holding a small red flag and will step out in front of the on coming vehicles to ask them to slow down or even to stop. He seemingly takes his life in his hands with no trepidation.

I was most amazed at the roads in Northern Mexico. I was able to come down from the Border in areas that I had avoided in the past. It seems that all roads now leading into Mexico from the US are, while not totally super highways, are nevertheless very good roads. The route from Del Rio (an easy Border crossing, by the way), goes through spectacular scenery filled with purple cosmos painting the fields, grand vistas of the majestic peaks of the Sierra Madre mountain range, and miles of interesting cactus fields. The small towns are themselves a throw back to earlier times. A couple of them reminded me of “old west” movie props. They were rather dusty places with the ubiquitous central plaza and people out enjoying themselves, an appearance that dates back to the turn of the 20th century! We were held up at one point by a festival in which hundreds of cowboys were present riding their show horses in all their finery. People were in a festive mood and greeted us warmly.

This is the Mexico that people seem to have forgotten about and one which the new super highways will by-pass. These are small towns where folk live out their lives as most people do everywhere: working hard, keeping to themselves, being a part of a small community. Whether one takes the new super highways or follows the old roads through sleepy towns will depend on one’s purpose. What is nice is that there is now a choice. So hop in your car and come down to visit Mexico and take advantage of the build up to the 2010 Bicentennial Celebrations.