Background

Air quality in Hermosillo in recent years has been affected by the high volume of traffic and congestion on the city’s roadways, as well as by airborne dust (PM10) generated by the poor condition of roadway surfaces, especially unpaved roads in residential neighborhoods. The
Municipality makes continuous investments to address paving deficiencies and rehabilitate roadway infrastructure throughout the city, including the paving project financed by NADB in 2011. The current project supports these ongoing efforts.

An important component of the City’s plan to reduce traffic congestionand improve urban mobility is the implementation of an Urban Traffic Management and Control System (UTMC), which is designed to allow the tools used in modern traffic management systems to communicate and share information with each other in a single centralized location.
Based on data collected by the traffic cameras and sensors, trained staff will be able to modify signal times to improve traffic flows in real time. Phases I and II of the UTMC have already been implemented.

The water and wastewater works considered for this project are part of an ongoing capital improvement plan for the local water utility, Agua de Hermosillo (AGUAH), and are aimed at increasing coverage to unserved areas and rehabilitating existing infrastructure. In particular, the project includes the construction of sewer systems and two wastewater treatment plants that will bring first-time services to the communities of La Victoria, Tazajal, and Bahía de Kino. Currently, these communities use individual on-site systems or latrines for their wastewater disposal.

Description

The project consists of the following infrastructure works:

• Water system: Construction/rehabilitation of 28,495 m (93,464 ft.) of water distribution lines, upgrades to one pump station and 60 new residential hookups.
• Wastewater system: Construction/rehabilitation of 59,737 m (195,987 ft.) of sewer lines, upgrades to two lift stations, installation of 4,500 residential hookups and construction of two
  treatment plants: the Bahía de Kino plant for 0.46 MGD capacity and the La Victoria / Tazajal, plant for 0.34 MGD capacity.
• Storm drainage: Rehabilitation of storm water inlet structures in nine intersections.
• Paving and roadway improvements: Paving of 422,691 square meters (m2) of dirt roads, rehabilitation and expansion of 404,307 m2 of existing roads, construction of three urban overpasses and installation of modern traffic lights, cameras and sensors in 112intersections (UTMC Phase III).

Benefits

Implementation of these works will help to reduce water, soil and air pollution that is currently affecting the health and the quality of life of local residents. Specifically, street paving and roadway improvements are expected to contribute to the reduction of 252 metric tons/year of PM10, while better mobility and less congestion will help reduce vehicle
emissions, including an estimated 121 metric tons/year of volatileorganic compound (VOC) emissions, 272 metric tons/year of carbonmonoxide (CO) emissions and 64 metric tons/year of nitrogen oxides (NOx). In addition, an estimated 4,500 households will have access to
first-time wastewater services, and new wastewater treatment facilities will increase capacity by an estimated 0.80 mgd.