The Arco Norte (lit.: Northern Arc), designated and signed as Federal Highway M40D, is a toll road in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It serves as a bypass around

Greater Mexico City Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico ( es, Zona metropolitana del Valle de México). It encompasses Mexico City itself and 60 adjacent municipalities of the S ...

and currently links the Mexico-Puebla toll road on the east with the Mexico-Guadalajara toll road on the west. The toll in 2017 for the entire stretch of highway is 405 pesos.

Route description

The highway begins east of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Mexican Federal Highway 150D Federal Highway 150D is a toll highway connecting Mexico City to Veracruz City via Puebla City and Córdoba. It serves as one of the backbones of Mexico's toll road system. The road is primarily operated by Caminos y Puentes Federales, which ch ...

, near San Martín Texmelucan de Labastida, which lies just inside

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

state. The highway has two lanes in each direction and begins northward through low mountains at above sea level. It continues through the western side of

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

state, then through the area where the states of

and

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

border each other, at about above sea level. The highway bends to the west, with few exits in the area. It serves few large population centers. As it reaches Tula, the area is greener and lies about above sea level. Then it rises to about 2400 m and meets the Mexico-Querétaro toll road, where it ended upon the opening of its first phase of in 2009. A second phase of opened two years later, extending the road west and south to

Atlacomulco Atlacomulco is one of 125 municipalities in the State of Mexico located in the northwest of the State of Mexico in central Mexico, from the state capital of Toluca. The municipal seat is the city of Atlacomulco de Fabela. The name is derived fr ...

and the junction with

Mexican Federal Highway 15D Federal Highway 15D (Carretera Federal 15D) is the name for toll highways paralleling Federal Highway 15. The toll segments of Highway 15D include some of the most significant highways in the country along the Nogales-Mexico City corridor. The h ...

toward

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

History

Construction of the Arco Norte began on February 28, 2006. The first phase opened in July 2009 (between the Autopista Mexico-Puebla and the Autopista Mexico-Querétaro, ). The second phase to Atlacomulco was formally opened on May 3, 2011.

Junctions

Autopista Mexico City-Puebla Autopista Mexico City-Querétaro

Mexican Federal Highway 57 Federal Highway 57 (''Carretera Federal 57'') (Fed. 57) is a free (libre) part of the federal highways corridors (los corredores carreteros federales) of Mexico. The 1301.83 km (808.92 mi) highway connects Mexico City with Piedra ...

, Mexican Federal Highway 55, Mexican Federal Highway 55D, Atlacomulco

External links

Official website

References

{{Mexican Federal Highways Highways in Greater Mexico City Ring roads in Mexico Transportation in the State of Mexico Transportation in Hidalgo Transportation in Tlaxcala Transportation in Puebla Mexican Federal Highways