Road closures

A damaged bridge on Costa Rica's Route 34 near Ciudad Cortés, Puntarenas, will affect driving on the Costanera until at least September, the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) confirmed Monday.

The seemingly never-ending works on "La Platina" bridge will continue to frustrate Costa Rican motorists this week as another prolonged closure looms for Thursday and Friday.

Currently the only alternative route between San José and the Caribbean is Route 10, which runs through Turrialba and Siquirres.

Provisional lanes could be open next week to allow vehicles through the area where a landslide nearly wiped out the road last January.

Heavy rains in several parts of the Caribbean region on Friday afternoon triggered a landslide that has blocked passage at kilometer 24 of Route 32, the main highway connecting San José with the province of Limón, the Public Works and Transport Ministry reported.

Public Works and Transport Ministry officials on Thursday will present the results of a study aimed at providing a solution to the reopening a stretch of the Inter-American Highway South that was washed out in a landslide on Jan. 29.

A 105-meter landslide at a depth of 20 meters in the early hours of Thursday has closed the Inter-American Highway South (Route 2) at kilometer 33, in an area known as Cerro de la Muerte. Officials say the route will be closed from two to four weeks.

The Roadway Safety Council reported that it will briefly close sections of two highways to install pedestrian bridges. On Wednesday night, Route 32, which connects San José with the Caribbean province of Limón, will be closed for four hours beginning at 10 p.m. A stretch of the Inter-American Highway in the southern Pacific region will be closed at noon on Thursday and will reopen at midnight Friday.

Faced with the threat of continued heavy rains and a dramatic weekend of landslides that left thousands of motorists stranded, Costa Rican highway officials decided to play it safe and close the main route linking San José with the Caribbean coast on Wednesday. But transit has returned to normal today, after officials reopened the route at 6 a.m. this morning.

As heavy rains continue to fall in Costa Rica, highway officials have ordered Route 32 to be closed as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The main highway through the Braulio Carrillo National Park and connecting San José with the Caribbean coast will remain closed for at least a day, officials said. Officials also are evaluating the possible closure of Route 27 to the central Pacific coast.