SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The elevated viaduct being constructed just south of the border in Tijuana likely won’t be ready for another year due to worker conflicts over compensation and payment schedules, according to Víctor Gabriel González Mendivil, president of Mexican Construction Industry Consortium in Baja California.

It was supposed to be done last October.

When finished, the roadway will be a little more than 6 miles long stretching from Tijuana’s coast all the way to the city’s international airport to the east.

It also includes two tunnels and several bridges.

Construction began 16 months ago with a budget of $750 million.

The goal for the roadway is to ease traffic on Avenida Internacional, which runs parallel to the border and is often congested during the morning and evening rush hours, especially in downtown Tijuana and around the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

“From what we understand, and since there’s little information we get, there have been several complications with the project delaying it,” González Mendivil said.

He went on to say one of the factors contributing to the delays are work slow-downs by crews upset over their compensation and pay schedules.

On Feb. 7, workers filed a claim against SEDENA, Mexico’s defense secretary, asking for back wages and severance packages for laid off workers.

SEDENA has been managing the project but has not addressed accusations made by workers, instead it has said the biggest reason for the delays has been inconsistent shipments of steel from China.

“This is not a good look for them, they have not been upfront about payments to the workers,” said González Mendivil. “Now they are falling way behind.”

A stretch of roadway from the beach into downtown Tijuana was supposed to be ready by April, but many of the support columns for the roadway aren’t done and it’s obvious this section won’t be ready anytime soon.

The entire roadway is now expected to be done by the second quarter 2026.