We are pleased to announce that the construction of the portion of the coastal highway, the "Costera", that passes near Santo Tomás was begun on July 5th, 2010.  This construction will bring a major highway within 7 miles of Santo Tomás, running north-south along the eastern edge of the Ejido, Alvaro Obregon (the village you pass through on the way to Santo Tomas).

    The Costera highway runs from San Luis, on the US border south of Yuma, east along the coast to Puerto Peñasco and then south all the way to Guaymas, 240 miles south of Santo Tomás.  It is a two-lane road with wide shoulders, similar to the road from the US border to Rocky Point.  The driving time from San Diego to Puerto Peñasco on this new highway is 5 hours.

    The Costera is being completed in sections:  The sections are:  San Luis to Puerto Peñasco (Finished), Puerto Peñasco to Desemboque (under construction), Desemboque to Puerto Lobos (Finished), Puerto Lobos to Puerto Libertad (60% done), Puerto Libertad to Kino Bay (next), Kino Bay to Guaymas (last).

    The section of the Costera from Puerto Peñasco to Desemboque follows the Puerto Peñasco-Caborca Highway until the Caborca Highway turns inland toward Caborca (6 miles north of Alvaro Obregon).  At this point, the Costera separates from the Caborca Highway and heads due south, passing along the east side of Alvaro Obregon and then continues south until it intersects with the current highway from "Y Griega" to Desemboque.

    Work crews are currently paving from the Ejido south to the Desemboque highway and will finish this 10 mile stretch by mid-October.  They will then begin paving from the Ejido northward, a distance of 6 miles, in order to connect with the Caborca highway.  This new highway will cut 10 miles off of the drive from Puerto Peñasco to Santo Tomás.

    In conjunction with this highway work, we plan to extend the east-west paved road that is south of the ejido so that it passes to the south of the church and provides a straight and clear exit toward Santo Tomás.  We will install a culvert at the current end of the paved road and extend the pavement westward.

    The continuation of this infrastructure project by the Mexican government, even in the midst of a recession, shows just how committed Mexico is to the development of the tourist industry in northern Sonora.  Very soon, travel to Santo Tomás from the United States will be easier than ever.

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