Costa Rica’s government will spend some ₡650 million ($1.3 million) to repair a 15-kilometer section of Route 1856, a road along Río San Juan and the border with Nicaragua.
Collapsed culverts and ditches are part of the repairs that will be performed by local firm MECO beginning Wednesday. The project is expected to last at least two months.
Public Works and Transport Minister Pedro Castro said on Tuesday that later this week the ministry will sign an executive decree to speed up the hiring process for firms that will participate in the next phase of construction, estimated to last an additional four months.
He also said an audit of the project would be performed by an international agency that would be selected in coming days.
Construction of Route 1856 got underway in 2011, but several corruption cases exposed in 2012 halted the project and prompted the resignation of then-Public Works and Transport Minister Francisco Jiménez, as well as the firing of various National Roadway Council officials.
