No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeCosta RicaUpdate on the Pathetic Condition of Costa Rica's Roads and Highways

Update on the Pathetic Condition of Costa Rica’s Roads and Highways

And the wheels on the bus may go round and round but the bus is not getting anywhere soon, at least in Costa Rica these days.

Just when you think it cannot get any worse somehow it finds a way when it comes to the Costa Rica national highway network.

The Pan American Highway north is shut for at least three months. The alternative route 27 to the pacific coast is literally sinking in some spots and subject to frequent landslides causing long delays. The old road to the west coast, the “aguacate” is supposedly restricted to only small vehicle traffic but it is also clogged with freight haulers desperate to get their goods to and from the west coast.

The Cerro de la Muerte (Hill of Death) that leads south from San Jose to San Isidro, and Perez Zelodon was also closed recently due to landslides.

Highway 32 that heads east to the Caribbean coast to Limon, and tourist hubs of Cahuita and Puerto Viejo was closed yesterday also due to landslides.

These are just the four main arteries from San Jose (north, south east, and west) and does not include nearly two dozen additional national roads that are either closed or subject to regulated passage.

Critics point to poor maintenance, design, engineering, construction, and governmental corruption as the contributing factors. You would also need to include the record setting rains experienced so far in this year’s rainy season as well.

The top three private government road contractors have recently been criminally accused of being involved in a large scale and long term bribery scandal implicating many in governmental ministries in charge of giving and overseeing national road contracts over several administrations.

The current situation has brought many different private sectors of the nation’s private business community together, including the agricultural and tourism chambers of commerce, two of the largest, to call for a decree of a “National Emergency” to address the issue. The agriculture sector deals with goods that are time sensitive when it comes to getting to markets here and abroad.

The tourism sector is deeply concerned about the upcoming peak season and the ability of visitors to even reach their destinations, especially in the central and south pacific coast, as well the Caribbean.

You can call it a National Emergency or simply just call it what it is, pathetic.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Food Culture: From Bar Bocas to Fast Food Chains

Once upon a time in Costa Rica, you could walk into a bar, order a beer, and receive a free boca – a small...

Why I Choose Real Life in Costa Rica Over the AI Hype

When it comes to AI, call me OG. Old school. I sometimes wish I could go back to a time before it existed. Artificial...

Can Costa Rica’s Blue Zone Preserve Its Longevity Legacy?

The Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica is recognized worldwide as one of the five blue zones, where people live beyond the age of 90...

Keylor Navas Joins Pumas After Controversial Exit from Newell’s

Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas is officially the newest player for Pumas UNAM, but his move from Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys has been anything...

El Salvador at Center of Controversial U.S.-Venezuela Detainee Exchange

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele received the 10 Americans exchanged on Friday between Washington and Caracas for 252 Venezuelans who had spent four months in...

Low Dollar Exchange Rate Threatens Costa Rican Industry

Ten of Costa Rica’s leading business chambers have sent a joint letter to the Central Bank calling for an immediate adjustment to the country's...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica