Drivers using Route 32, the main highway between San José and the Caribbean port city of Limón, should plan for lane closures on the Río Sucio bridge starting Monday and running into the first week of July, as crews repair the structure.
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) said one lane will be closed at a time while the work continues, with traffic moving through the open lane under flagger control. From the morning of Monday, June 22, the lane heading from San José toward Guápiles will be shut through June 26. The following week, from June 29 to July 3, crews will switch sides and close the lane carrying traffic from Guápiles back toward San José.
The closed lane will stay shut around the clock during each phase, so delays are possible at any hour, not only during working hours. The work targets the bridge itself. According to MOPT, crews will repair the support columns, reinforce the deck, rebuild the embankments at either end, service the bearings the span rests on, and repave the road surface across the bridge. The ministry said the repairs are meant to shore up the bridge’s structure, extend how long it will last, and make the crossing safer for drivers and pedestrians alike.
For anyone heading to Limón, the Caribbean beaches, or the port terminals at Moín, the closures mean extra time on a route that already backs up easily. Authorities are asking drivers to slow down through the work zone, follow the posted signs, and do what the flaggers on site tell them.
Route 32 is one of Costa Rica’s busiest and most important highways. It links the Central Valley to Limón, home to the country’s main Caribbean ports, and carries thousands of vehicles a day, including a heavy stream of cargo trucks hauling goods to and from the export terminals at Moín. When the road slows or shuts, the effects ripple out to shipping, trade, and tourism.
The highway is also prone to trouble in the rainy season. The mountainous stretch through Braulio Carrillo National Park, near the Zurquí tunnel, sees frequent landslides and rockfalls, and MOPT regularly closes the road there as a precaution during heavy rain. The ministry has repeatedly named Route 32 a priority for repair, and crews have been building retaining walls along the most slide-prone sections to cut down on those closures.
The bridge repairs are separate from a larger upgrade underway on the same corridor. Since mid-2025, the national power company, the Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL), and its parent, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), have been installing lighting and cell-phone coverage along a 26-kilometer (about 16-mile) stretch between the Zurquí tunnel and Guápiles — a roughly ₡7.5 billion project meant to make the dark, foggy mountain section safer. That work has also brought intermittent lane closures at times.
Travelers on Route 32 over the next two weeks should allow extra time, check official MOPT updates before setting out, and be ready for slow going through the bridge work zone.
