Drivers using Route 1 near Juan SantamarÃa International Airport are set to get some relief after President Rodrigo Chaves ordered the removal of the unused toll booth structures at RÃo Segundo de Alajuela and Naranjo. The tolls have not been collecting fees since last September, but the physical booths have remained in place, continuing to act as a bottleneck (and headache) on one of our country’s busiest corridors.
Chaves gave the order during a visit to San Ramón tied to the signing of the law for the expansion and improvement of the San José–San Ramón corridor on Route 1. The project carries $770 million in financing and covers 55.6 kilometers between San José and San Ramón, along with a 4.45-kilometer radial connection between RÃo Segundo and Belén.
The toll suspension began last year as part of an effort to ease congestion and respond to long-running complaints from nearby communities and drivers. At the time, transport authorities said the measure would help improve traffic flow while the government evaluated the impact on the San José–San Ramón route.
That change appears to have had an effect as traffic became more fluid on the General Cañas and Bernardo Soto stretches after toll collection stopped at RÃo Segundo and Naranjo, two points long associated with heavy backups.
The latest order now turns that temporary traffic fix into a more visible physical change on the road. Still, it also raises questions about what comes next. Conavi expects toll collection at RÃo Segundo and Naranjo to return once a new operating contract is awarded, even as the larger San José–San Ramón expansion plan continues moving ahead.
For drivers heading to the airport or commuting between Alajuela, Naranjo, and San José, life just became less stressful as the old toll barriers that no longer serve a purpose are on the way out, and one of the most criticized choke points on Route 1 is being dismantled.
