CAÑAS, Guanacaste – The widening to four lanes of the Inter-American Highway North, from Cañas to Liberia, is moving forward at full pace. A recent visit by The Tico Times to the construction site confirmed that the project already has changed the lives of hundreds of local residents who use the highway daily.
Costa Rica's lawmakers agreed to postpone until Oct. 12 discussion of a $395 million loan from the government of China to finance the expansion and renovation of Route 32, the main access highway to the province of Limón.
The high fuel prices are due in part to Costa Rica's 29 percent gas tax, which goes directly to the National Roadway Council (CONAVI) for roadwork, but the tax revenue hasn't been able to improve the country's roads.
Business confidence in Costa Rica dropped by 10 percent compared to the same period last year, a survey by the Union of Private-Sector Chambers and Associations said. Confidence dropped in every sector surveyed.
The Public Works and Transport Ministry this week awarded a $141 million contract to build a northern section of the Circunvalación, a belt route bordering the center of San José.
Poor domestic competition and closed markets have pushed the cost of transporting goods in Central America to some of the highest in the world, according to a report issue by the World Bank on Thursday morning. But the quality of the region’s roads may not explain why.
Limón residents angered by a delay in legislation to expand Route 32, the main highway connecting Costa Rica's capital with the Caribbean coast, descended on San José's Legislative Assembly Wednesday, and the target of their ire was Citizen Action Party lawmaker Manrique Oviedo.
Two bridges currently under construction on a southern section of the Circunvalación – a belt route around the center of San José – were built with flawed cement, experts from the University of Costa Rica’s National Structural Materials and Models Laboratory announced following a much-anticipated inspection on Wednesday.
A southern section of the capital's belt route that has been closed since August will reopen for limited daytime hours while workers install permanent bridges.
