[5] The bridge forms part of a new highway linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of northern Mexico and has reduced the travelling time between Durango and Mazatlán from approximately 6 to 2.5 hours.

[6] 76 steel cables pass over saddles in the pylons to form 152 suspenders in a two plane semi-fan layout.

[10] The work was carried out by a consortium that included Tradeco Infraestructura, IDINSA, Aceros Corey and VSL México,[9] which was awarded the contract in May 2007 by the Mexican transport and communications ministry, the SCT, beating two other higher-priced bidders.

[11] The cost has risen significantly from the original bid of 1.28 billion pesos (US$118 million); according to an SCT official, this is due, among other things, to the number of structures involved in such a project.

[11] The choice of a cable-stayed design was made to enable the construction to proceed outward from each of the two main pylons, thus making it unnecessary to build an expensive and time-consuming falsework.

It had been hoped that the bridge would be inaugurated in the second half of 2010 as part of the bicentennial celebrations, but delays pushed the date back.

The region is seriously affected by poverty and lawlessness which has prompted many locals to take up illegal drug farming, smuggling and even highway robbery on the old Durango–Mazatlán road.

According to a town administrator in Pueblo Nuevo municipality, the new bridge and road will help to improve security by reducing the region's isolation.

Durango's state government plans to build a new industrial park on a 4,300-acre (1,700-hectare) site adjoining the highway, while Sinaloa's governor anticipates a boost in the usage of Mazatlán's port from the increase in cross-country traffic.