Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 Federal Highway 40, also called the "Carretera Interoceánica" (Interoceanic Highway) is a road beginning at Reynosa

Reynosa

Reynosa is a border city in the northern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from McAllen, Texas in the United States. As of 2010, the city of Reynosa counts with a population of 607,532...

, Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...

, and ending at Mazatlán

Mazatlán

Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...

, Sinaloa

Sinaloa

Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....

, at the Pacific coast. It is called Interoceanic as, once finished, the cities of Matamoros, Tamaulipas

Matamoros, Tamaulipas

Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...

, on the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

, and Mazatlán, Sinaloa, at the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, were linked.

It passes through Monterrey

Monterrey

Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...

, Nuevo León

Nuevo León

Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

; Saltillo

Saltillo

Saltillo is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located about 400 km south of the U.S. state of Texas, and 90 km west of Monterrey, Nuevo León....

, Coahuila

Coahuila

Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...

; Torreón

Torreón

Torreón is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2010, the city's population was 608,836 with 639,629 in the municipality. The metropolitan population, including Matamoros, Coahuila, and Gómez Palacio and Lerdo in adjacent Durango,...

, Coahuila; Gómez Palacio

Gómez Palacio

Gómez Palacio is a city and its surrounding municipality in northeastern Durango, Mexico, located at 25°33′40″N 103°29′54"W adjacent to the border with the state of Coahuila...

, Durango

Durango

Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...

 and Durango, Durango

Durango, Durango

-Climate:The city of Durango has a semi-arid climate, classified as Bsk in the Koppen system. The climate is temperate in the western portion , with the average annual temperature being 15 °C and consisting of an average annual rainfall of 1,600 millimeters. In the eastern region, the average...

. 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

Toll road

A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...

.

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
  General Bravo, Nuevo León
  General Bravo is a municipality and also the name of its main population center and seat of government in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. It is named after Nicolas Bravo, a hero of the Mexican War of Independence.-External links:...
  
  
• China, Nuevo León
  China, Nuevo León
  China is a municipality in the Mexican state of Nuevo León.China is approximately 60 miles northeast of Monterrey. Population, approximately 10,000. Area is known for its award-winning cattle. Local cuisine includes cabrito , and carne seca with egg....
  
  
• 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

Sierra Madre Oriental

The Sierra Madre Oriental is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico.-Setting:Spanning the Sierra Madre Oriental runs from Coahuila south through Nuevo León, southwest Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, and Hidalgo to northern Puebla, where it joins with the east-west running Eje Volcánico...

 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

Coahuila

Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...

. 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

Matamoros, Coahuila

Matamoros is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name located in the southwestern part of the state of Coahuila in Mexico...

, 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

Mexican Plateau

The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano or Altiplanicie Mexicana, is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico...

.

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

Cuencamé, Durango

Cuencamé is a small city and seat of the municipality of Cuencamé in the state of Durango, which is in northern Mexico. Cuencamé was founded by the Spaniards around the 1890s. Towns near this city include Ocuila, Pasaje, Cerro Gordo, Pedriceña and Velardeña...

, the roads splits, Highway 49 continues south to Zacatecas

Zacatecas

Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is 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

Sierra Madre Occidental

The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.-Setting:The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins...

, 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

Baluarte Bridge

The Baluarte Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge currently under construction in Mexico. It is located between the municipalities of Concordia in Sinaloa and Pueblo Nuevo in Durango, along the Durango-Mazatlan highway. Once it is complete, the bridge will span in length, with a cable-stayed span of...

expected to be finished in year 2012.