Road Repairs Under Way, but Many Routes Still Closed

Costa Rica’s Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) has deployed more than 140 heavy construction vehicles to clear roads across the country.

The ministry is focusing on cleaning up landslides in the Central Pacific and the Southern Zone, especially along the Costanera Highway. The National Emergency Commission said 75 national routes have been damaged.

Public Works and Transport Minister Francisco Jiménez said Friday afternoon that crews are cleaning up roads in Buenos Aires, Golfito and Pérez Zeledón in the Southern Zone and in Parrita and Quepos on the central Pacific coast.

The minister said crews are also working to re-establish routes in Aserrí, a mountain town south of San José; in San Antonio de Escazú, site of Thursday’s devastating landslide in the hills west of San José; in Cerro de la Muerte, on the Inter-American Highway connecting San José to the Southern Zone; and in the northwestern province of Guanacaste.

The ministry estimates that 13 bridges across the country have collapsed because of this week’s heavy rains and fierce landslides.

As of 3 p.m. Friday, the following routes were closed:

–Route 34 on the Costanera Highway from Puntarenas to Parrita, on the central Pacific coast.

–The San José-Caldera Highway between the western Central Valley town of Atenas to Orotina, just inland from the central Pacific coast.

–The southern Inter-American Highway in Pérez Zeledón, along a stretch known as Weber.

–National Route 160 from Sámara to Nosara in the northwestern province of Guanacaste.

–Route 616 between Quepos and Londres on the central Pacific coast.

–Route 243 between San Isidro de El General and Dominical in the Southern Zone.

–Route 239 between Puriscal, a mountain town southwest of San José, and Parrita.

–Routes 226, 303, 315 and 313 in the Los Santos region, south of San José.

For the latest updates on road conditions, visit http://www.transito.go.cr/estadorutas/index.html.