All eight lanes of the Circunvalación bridge over the María Aguilar River reopened yesterday, restoring normal traffic on one of San José’s busiest highways after more than a year of construction and lane restrictions. The bridge, near Parque de la Paz and the Y Griega roundabout on Route 39, was fully opened at about 1 p.m. by officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) and the National Road Authority (Conavi). About 65,000 vehicles travel through this stretch of Circunvalación each day.
The project replaced two aging culverts over the María Aguilar River with a new bridge that is 44 meters (144 feet) wide and 20 meters (66 feet) long. The new bridge provides space for all eight lanes of the Circunvalación and the ramps serving the Y Griega roundabout. The work also included improvements to the approaches to the bridge, new sidewalks and lighting, along with restoration of nearby green areas.
MOPT Deputy Infrastructure Minister Pablo Camacho said carrying out the project was particularly difficult because of the large volume of traffic passing through the area. Construction was done in stages so that vehicles could continue using part of the bridge while crews worked on other sections.
“Today we are delivering a much-needed project to the people of Costa Rica, one that will restore and improve mobility in the metropolitan area,” Camacho said. Work on the bridge began in July 2025 after authorities determined that the culverts and other components of the crossing had reached the end of their useful life. Motorists dealt with changing lane configurations and traffic restrictions during the roughly year-long reconstruction.
The current investment in the project is more than $5.3 million, according to MOPT. Funding came through the Emergency Program for Comprehensive and Resilient Infrastructure Reconstruction (Proeri) which is financed by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
Although all eight lanes are now open, the project is not completely finished. Crews will continue with minor work during the coming weeks, but MOPT said those jobs are not expected to require additional lane closures. For drivers who regularly use Circunvalación, the opening removes one significant construction bottleneck, but another is coming.
MOPT plans to begin work in September on the bridge over the Torres River which is between the Monumento al Agua interchange and the overpass connecting with Rohrmoser. That project will replace the existing structure and expand it from four lanes to six, with three lanes in each direction.
The Torres River project is valued at about $11.1 million, and drivers should expect traffic disruptions during construction, which is expected to take about 10 months. For now, however, those traveling through the southern part of San José’s Circunvalación once again have all eight lanes available near Parque de la Paz.
