Pope Francis Bridge

The engineering firm ACI, which designed and supervises the Pope Francis Bridge on Tegucigalpa's ring road, also designed and supervised the Juan Manuel Gálvez overpass that collapsed in April 2025, raising questions about the company's track record on major infrastructure projects.

Mayor Juan Diego Zelaya says the city will not reopen the Pope Francis Bridge until ongoing safety studies confirm no structural risk, amid investigations into cracks and disputed construction materials.

Tegucigalpa Mayor Juan Diego Zelaya has frozen repairs on the Pope Francis Bridge and ordered a fifth independent technical assessment, stating that private contractors—not public funds—will pay for fixes to address design flaws and structural damage discovered since the bridge opened in November 2025.

The engineering firm that designed Tegucigalpa's Pope Francis Bridge dismissed audits alleging structural damage, characterizing the detected cracks as normal thermal contraction of concrete that pose no collapse risk, though city officials continue investigating the defects.