Travel Alert: MOPT suspends daily closures on Route 32

The Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) on Friday suspended temporary closures on Route 32, which connects San José and the Caribbean province of Limón, as they are close to finishing the demarcation of 37.5 kilometers of highway that began earlier this month.

Starting Saturday police officers will be regulating traffic on a stretch of highway from Santa Elena de San Isidro to the intersection at Río Frío, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Alejandra Acosta, an engineer from MOPT’s Traffic Engineering Department said “motorists will only have to wait a few minutes but traffic will not be closed.”

Traffic regulation will be enforced to allow demarcation of the highway and to place traffic signs.

Next week, MOPT staff will start placing yield, intersection, and speed limit signs, among others.

The final stage of the ₡223 million ($433,000) project is the placement of 2,000, 1-meter high flexible lane dividers.

The plastic dividers are painted with reflective yellow paint to guide motorists, as fog and rain in the area usually reduce visibility, particularly during the rainy season that runs from May to November in Costa Rica.

The devices will be fixed to the ground at 15-meter intervals, which is “a recommended distance to discourage illegal passing,” Acosta said.