Mexican Federal Highways, are roads maintained and built by the federal government of Mexico, through the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (in Spanish: Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes, SCT).The Federal Highways in Mexico can be classified as high speed roads with restricted access and low speed roads with open access. Some Federal Highways charge a toll (cuota).

High speed with restricted access roads

Restricted access roads, known as Autopistas or Supercarreteras, are limited access expressways with predetermined points-of-access interchange. Access to these roads is generally prohibited for pedestrians and animal traction vehicles, as fences are located at a side of the road for most of the length. Autopistas are a divided highway with 4 or more lanes. Supercarreteras are always two-lane highways and are most commonly found in mountain areas. The maximum speed limit is for cars and for buses and trucks.

Low speed with open access roads

Low speed/open access roads, known as Autopistas or Carreteras, conform the majority of the road network. Autopistas are a divided highway with 4 or more lanes. Most of these Autopistas were single carriageway roads converted into dual carriageway by building an adjacent road body next to the existing one. Carreteras are free and in most cases two-lane highways that cover almost all of Mexico. These roads have interchanges at major roads, but most intersections are at-grade. The maximum speed limit is for cars and for buses and trucks.

Numbering system

North-south highways are assigned odd numbers, east-west highway are identified by even numbers. The start of the numbering schema is located on the northwest of the country.

See also

• List of Mexican Federal Highways
• List of Mexican autopistas

External links

• Mexico Secretaria of Comunicaciones y Transportes Official maps of federal highways - in Spanish