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aburruss
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MEX-3 is a disaster
MEX-3 from Ensenada to San Felipe is a total mess right now. I used to think that BCS 53 south between La Purisima and Insurgentes was the worst
paved road in Baja.. but I think that MEX-3 now takes the cake. It is SO bad.. you have to drive about 25MPH tops in many spots (especially the
closer you get to Valle de Trinidad)
The good news is that Taqueria el Rancho was open.. We had some amazing tacos to compensate for the horrible drive to get there. 
Video of my trip
[Edited on 5-12-2023 by aburruss]
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SFandH
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Quote: Originally posted by aburruss  | MEX-3 from Ensenada to San Felipe is a total mess right now. I used to think that MEX-1 south between La Purisima and Insurgentes was the worst paved
road in Baja.. but I think that MEX-3 now takes the cake. It is SO bad.. you have to drive about 25MPH tops in many spots (especially the closer you
get to Valle de Trinidad)
The good news is that Taqueria el Rancho was open.. We had some amazing tacos to compensate for the horrible drive to get there.
Video of my trip |
Thanks for the report. I heard a similar report a couple of weeks ago.
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aburruss
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There are actually guys along the road.. with bags of asphalt.. asking for tips as they are filling in potholes. GREAT business venture!
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PaulW
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Agree
That road has been neglected for years. Sometimes lumpy pot hole filling or at worst just deep holes. Short paced sections are done poorly and fall
apart by the next year.
And Hwy 5 N of San Felipe is developing pot holes. The strange thing is the pot hole crews make smooth compacted repairs after cutting out the bad
parts. As usual there are too many to keep up with.
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David K
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Thank you for this road report!!! This kind of field reporting is so valuable.
Just a small correction, the highway from Insurgents to La Purísima is BCS#53, not Mex. #1, which goes east from Insurgents towards Loreto.
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aburruss
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K |
Just a small correction, the highway from Insurgents to La Purísima is BCS#53, not Mex. #1, which goes east from Insurgents towards Loreto.
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Fixed. I knew this. Brain fart.
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pappy
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My friend , who is also my mechanic and frequents Baja, and I were talking about this yesterday. He just got back from San Felipe and had travelled
the 3 .He told me DO NOT travel on that road due to the great number of large pot holes.guaranteed serious damage if ya hit one...( he was on a
motorcycle running around the area)
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AKgringo
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This is just my speculation, but over the years I have noticed that the quality of fill material, and compaction of the road base is frequently
sub-standard in Baja.
In heavy rainfall years, even a temporary raising of the groundwater level, combined with the hammering of heavy traffic can cause the sub-base to
settle and cracks form in the pavement.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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PaulW
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It is no wonder the roads have pot holes when the paving an repaving is only 1-2" thick.
Even the new sections of Hwy1 have paving too thin with the resulting pot holes in a short time.
What is worse is the slurry coating which is nothing more than cosmetic and does nothing to extend the pavement life - just a waste of pesos.
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JDCanuck
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Based on the road repairs and original qualities of the pavement both, it appears we will always be facing unexpected potholes. The patches last about
1 month on the downhill tight curves between us and La Paz. Especially concerning when no one follows the speed limits and suddenly swerve into your
narrow lane to avoid going over the edge.
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Cliffy
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Try driving IN La Paz Its combat driving with pot holes big enough to swallow a VW!! They are everywhere in town
You chose your position in life today by what YOU did yesterday
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Udo
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I have houses in both San Felipe and Ensenada. Mex 3 is a total disaster since the rains have started and ended for the 2023 season.
I totally avoid Mex 3.
I normally now drive to the US via Mexicali and head South at Tecate, then onto Ensenada. From Ensenada, now, I head South (always stopping for
oysters at Ron Gomez Hoff's restaurant in San Quintín) and drive North at Lake Chapala to San Felipe.
By the time you factor in the detours, and construction near Ensenada, as well as the huge craters on Mex 3, there is only an hour of drive time
difference!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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SFandH
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Where in Ensenada? Highway 1, south side of town?
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BajaNomad
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Thread Moved
5-14-2023 at 01:01 PM |
Udo
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Hola, SFandH!
I live near the Blow Hole in La Bufadora. (The area is known as Punta Banda).
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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SFandH
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It took us 2.5 hours northbound between Maneadero and the south end of Ensenada, beginning at 3 PM Tuesday, just a few miles. The engineer in charge
of the road construction should be thrown in jail. The first step should have been to build a good dirt road detour. Just ridiculous.
I took that route to avoid Mex 3 from San Felipe to Ensenada with its car-eating potholes.
Only in Mexico. Dumb fuggers.
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tomieharder
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Why does Mexico always have enough asphalt to make topes, but not enough to fill potholes?
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SFandH
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I'm sure Caltrans would not have created the mess at the south end of Ensenada. BTW during the 2.5 hours to go a few miles on Tuesday afternoon, I did
not see a single worker, just a bunch of parked machines.
[Edited on 5-19-2023 by SFandH]
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David K
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mtgoat666
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Perhaps because the total volume needed to fill existing potholes is probably over 1000X greater than the total volume of existing topes.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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PaulW
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Mex 3 is bad - agree.
Do you really believe the exaggerated reports?
It is not so bad as to avoid using it. Just slow down and watch where you drive just like other drivers.
Yes it will take longer that if the road was better. Sure beats an even longer detour.
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