Mexican Federal Highway 40

Federal Highway 40
Carretera Federal 40
Major junctions
East end:	Reynosa, Tamaulipas
West end:	Mazatlán, Sinaloa
Highway system
Mexican Federal Highways ← Fed. 37 Fed. 41 →

Mexican Federal Highway 40, also called the "Carretera Interoceánica" (Interoceanic Highway) is a road beginning at Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and ending at Mazatlán, Sinaloa, at the Pacific coast. It is called Interoceanic as, once finished, the cities of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on the Gulf of Mexico, and Mazatlán, Sinaloa, at the Pacific Ocean, were linked.

It passes through Monterrey, Nuevo León; Saltillo, Coahuila; Torreón, Coahuila; Gómez Palacio, Durango and Durango, Durango. The Monterrey to Durango section is a 4-lane divided highway. The rest of the road is a 2-lane undivided road.

Parallel to this Highway, in some sections, runs Federal Highway 40D, which is a 4-lane restricted access toll road.

Reynosa, Tamaulipas, to Monterrey, Nuevo León

Federal Highway 40 is a 4-lane divided unrestricted access road from Reynosa to La Junta, Nuevo León. Then the highway is divided onto Highway 40 and Highway 40D. Highway 40 continues as a 2 lane undivided road, passing through several small towns including:

• Peña Blanca, Nuevo León
• General Bravo, Nuevo León
• China, Nuevo León
• Cadereyta, Nuevo León

Monterrey, Nuevo León, to Saltillo, Coahuila

Federal Highway 40 is a 4-lane divided unrestricted access road from Monterrey, Nuevo León, to Saltillo, Coahuila. The Road crosses the Sierra Madre Oriental that divides Coahuila and Nuevo León.

Saltillo, Coahuila, to Torreón, Coahuila

From Saltillo the road continues to be a 4-lane unrestricted access road. After the town El Mesón, the road splits into a 4-lane toll Road 40D and a 2 lane 2 way undivided unrestricted road. Both roads merge together again in 28 de Agosto town and begins the 4 lane divided unrestricted highway again. A few kilometers ahead you can find the road junction south to Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila. At La Cuchilla the road splits again into 40 and 40D, besides these options, you can consider Federal Highway 30 to San Pedro, which it eventually becomes a 4 lane divided unrestricted road and leads directly to northern Torreón. At the city of Matamoros, Coahuila, the roads merge again into a 4 lane divided unrestricted highway until you reach Torreón.

This section is the east-west section across the central Mexican Plateau.

Torreon, Coahuila, to Gómez Palacio, Durango

Torreon, Coahuila, and Gómez Palacio, Durango, form a metro area. At Gómez Palacio, Highway 40 merges with highway 49 that comes from the north. At Gómez Palacio you can choose between 40-49 and 40-49D, the difference here is that both roads are 4-lane divided until the first toll booth.

Gómez Palacio, Durango, to Durango, Durango

At Gómez Palacio you can choose between the toll road and the unrestricted road. At Cuencamé, Durango, the roads splits, Highway 49 continues south to Zacatecas (and Mexico City) and Highway 40 continues west to Durango.

Durango, Durango, to Mazatlán, Sinaloa

This section of the highway is narrow with lots of curves. During the winter months there is the added danger of ice. When going eastbound, Mazatlán to Durango, after reaching the top of the Sierra Madre Occidental, the highway becomes more linear, and it goes through the towns of La Ciudad, El Salto, and El Soldado, it continues linear up to a point around 30 kilometers from Durango, and it goes downhill with a lot of curves again. In all the downhill sections, the use of engine brake is advised.

New Highway

The construction of the new highway between Durango and Mazatlán will shorten time between this two cities, the highway will pass under and over the Sierra Madre Occidental through tunnels and bridges, the most important is the Baluarte Bridge expected to be finished in year 2012.

External links