Here is an article from the Mazatlan Post about the first section of the toll road from Mazatlan north that we will have to drive when we start home. It is a horrible road. I'm glad it is the first day of driving. As the road gets MUCH better as we pass into the state of Sonora. (the translation is a little weird but you can get the idea.)

“It’s falling apart, Expensive and in terrible condition maxipista Culiacán-Mazatlán toll road

February 12, 2022

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Línea Directa begins with a series of special works on the state of the roads in Sinaloa; the first of them, the Culiacán-Mazatlán, which costs almost 600 pesos to travel it on a round trip

Sinaloa.- Constant potholes of different sizes, mainly, in the fast lane and shoulder, cracked sections, deteriorated central lines and toll booths with evident lack of maintenance, is the service that citizens who transit through the maxipista have to put up with of quota Culiacán-Mazatlán.

And to make matters worse for the thousands of users who decide to travel along this highway, they are often surprised by the increase in toll charges, due to roads that are deteriorating, a problem that is more evident in six points.

At the Costa Rica booth, a motorcyclist has to pay 78 pesos; a motorist, 157 pesos; buses, 251; trucks from 261 to 372 pesos, depending on the number of axles; transport with a light surplus, 78 pesos and with a heavy surplus, 131 pesos.

In fact, traveling around this maxipista in a traditional car costs 584 pesos in total, since you also have to cover the Marble booth, with a price of 135 pesos for light vehicles.

During the tour carried out by the Línea Directa team, Mr. Gerardo commented that he travels on the road once a week, witnessing how the road system is “disrupting”.

Although the damage is evident due to the passage of heavy transport, he said that maintenance must be constant and equivalent to the income obtained from the booths.

“THE ROAD IS IN DISARRAY, MANY POTHOLES, MANY WELLS (…) FIRST THEY FIX IT AND THEN THEY GET IT UP,” HE DENOUNCED.

For his part, the bus driver, Erick Sánchez, shared that he considers that the collection of the booths should go down, due to the terrible conditions in which it is found and in his case, he considers that the section from Guamúchil to Mazatlán, the highway it’s horrible.

“I SAY THAT THEY ARE RAISING THE BOOTHS BADLY, WHEN THEY ARE NOT MAINTAINED, BECAUSE IF THEY WERE IN GOOD CONDITION ONE WOULD NOT SAY ANYTHING, ON THE CONTRARY, ONE WOULD EVEN GLADLY PAY FOR IT, BUT UNFORTUNATELY NOT,” HE LAMENTED.

The toll for one section we have to pay auto AND camion 418 pesos translates to around US$20 

It should be noted that on the road from Quilá to Costa Rica, from kilometers 154 to 176, most of the potholes have been rehabilitated, leaving embankments that have to be removed, but road conditions are a little better.