Costa Rica: Costa Rica Highway Work is Changing the Country s Reputation of Having Bad Roads.

There are two major highway projects under way in Costa Rica, the Highway extension from to Orotina near the west coast and the Costanera Highway extension from Quepos to heading south toward Panama. Both projects have been huge engineering feats requiring hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of stone to build the road bed as well as construction of multiple bridges over the roughly 120 kilometers combined between the two sections.

The new Caldera toll road from San Jose to Puntarenas is now open from Orotina all the way to Puntarenas and the toll for automobiles is 480 colones (about 85 cents). The missing section between Orotina and Ciudad Colon is expected to be completed by early 2010. The project, funded by the Inter- American Development Bank, is nearing completion. This highway required the construction of 5 new major bridges to cross some very steep valleys as well as rivers and other water bodies in the mountains west of San Jose. The project has been slowed as safeguards to run off into local aquifers are being installed in this environmentally conscious country. Road work can be challenging since Costa Rica is home to four mountain ranges, with peaks over 11,000 feet. 

On the southern known as the Costanera extension between Quepos and Dominica the final finish coat of pavement is now being installed. At this point less than 3 miles remains unpaved and most of this section is nearly ready for paving. The drive time has been reduced from several hours to less than an hour. There is a big increase in tractor trailer traffic along the coastal route since the Costanera is a better alternative than the Inter-American Highway stretch known as the via the inland route by San Isidro En General. Truck traffic will increase along the coastal route as more drivers realize they avoid the climb to nearly 11,000 feet above sea level required on the Cerro and also avoid having to pass through San Jose on their trip north. 

Bridge Update: All the major bridges from Jaco Beach to Dominical are now complete and open. Just two years ago all traffic had to drive through the two rivers via this route, sometimes impossible during the rainy season. The new bridge in Parrita is finally open so you no longer have to wait at the one lane antiquated bridge to cross the river where weekend traffic to Quepos and Manuel Antonio would often back up for hours. The bridge across the Sevegre River has now been fully widened to two lanes and the bridge across the Naranjo River just south of Quepos is finished as well. The only bridge left to be completed is the one lane bridge by the town of Hatillo, which was only installed a few years ago and is close to Dominical.

Nueva vía a Caldera
abrirá 4 meses antes.

La nueva carretera San José-Caldera estará abierta en marzo del 2010, cuatro meses antes de lo previsto en el contrato.

Así lo aseguró ayer Cristian Sandoval, director de Autopistas del Sol, la concesionaria del proyecto de 77 kilómetros que ofrece enlazar la capital con el Pacífico en 45 minutos.

Este viernes, tras una inspección del ministro de Transportes, Marco Vargas, la concesionaria anunció que en el tramo de 39 km entre Ciudad Colón y Orotina ya se completó un 90% de las obras.

Eso significa que apenas resta el asfaltado en 3,6 kilómetros del trayecto, divididos en tres sectores: Cebadilla de Turrúcares, Balsa de Atenas y el último en Dantas de Orotina, todos en Alajuela.

En esos puntos, la concesionaria ha tenido problemas por la composición del suelo, entre otras circunstancias.

Según Sandoval, estos tramos pendientes estarán listos en dos meses.

Para marzo, cuando se espera que entre a funcionar la carretera completa, también comenzará el cobro en los peajes principales: Escazú, La Reforma, Atenas y Pozón.

El viaje completo, en un solo sentido, costará $3,5 (aproximadamente ¢2.030).

Además del tramo Ciudad Colón - Orotina, a mediados de este año la constructora entregó las obras del primer trayecto San José - Ciudad Colón.

En ese mismo período se entregó el tercer tramo y final, entre Orotina y Caldera. La mayoría de la vía tiene un carril por sentido y carriles de ascenso para adelantar.

Así luce parte del tramo de 39 km Ciudad Colón-Orotina