Costa Rica is moving to speed up approval of financing for the long-delayed expansion of Route 1, as lawmakers push a fast-track procedure for a $770 million loan package tied to the San José–San Ramón corridor. The proposal, already approved unanimously by the Legislative Assembly’s budget committee, now heads to the full legislature, where supporters want to shorten the remaining procedural steps and move it to a vote more quickly.
The financing would cover the expansion and upgrade of 55.63 kilometers of one of Costa Rica’s busiest road links, connecting the capital with western communities and key routes toward the Pacific and the northern part of the country. The package includes $600 million from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and $170 million from the OPEC Fund for International Development.
The fast-track move would waive part of the normal legislative process, allowing amendments to be discussed directly on the floor instead of sending the project back through committee. Backers say that matters because even a prompt approval now would still leave construction starting no earlier than mid-2027.
The project would widen the route in stages, with four lanes in each direction between San José and Juan Santamaría International Airport, three lanes in each direction from the airport to San Antonio del Tejar, and two lanes in each direction from San Antonio del Tejar to San Ramón. It also includes the Río Segundo spur road and a wide list of supporting works, including interchanges, new bridges, bridge rehabilitation, pedestrian crossings, bus bays, wildlife crossings, toll stations, lighting, and signaling improvements.
Officials have said the expanded corridor could cut peak travel times between San Ramón and San José by about 50 percent, while also improving road safety, easing congestion, and lowering operating costs for the movement of people and goods. The government has framed the project as a major infrastructure upgrade for communities in the western Central Valley and for the wider productive sector that depends on the corridor.
The road plan also includes a tunnel near La Uruca, close to the Juan Pablo II bridge and the Monumento al Agua, a project that transport officials have said is meant to tackle one of the route’s worst bottlenecks. That section alone has been estimated at roughly $100 million.
Route 1 has been discussed for years as one of Costa Rica’s most urgent road projects, but repeated delays, redesigns, and financing questions have kept the expansion from moving into construction. With the loan now in committee and support building for a quicker floor vote, the project appears closer than it has in years to finally clearing the legislative hurdle that has held it back.
