Soon, No More Potholes!
Soon, No More Potholes!
Don't be surprised that come next month (July) there will be fewer and soon no more potholes on the nation's road system, especially important to major tourist areas like Tamarindo, Conchal and Flamingo, where the roads that lead to these favourite beach areas is just one big pothole after another.

The Contraloría General de la República announced Friday that it approved the 22 contracts by the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad to repair and maintain the more than 4.000 kilometres of roadway.

If all goes well, the first work could begin as early as week.

Karla González, Ministra de Transportes, explained that each of te 22 contracts includes an average of 300 kilometres of roadway, which will allow maintenance and repair to all major roads in the country.

The Transport Minister explained that the Contraloría gave the green light to the contracts following a series of modifications and addendums to the original contracts by Conavi, that will allow the government to better supervise the process of applying asphalt and that the paving is within the standards, said González.

"We will strictly control the work, not only from our laboratories but with inspectors in the field, people who have experience in paving. We want to guarantee that the standards for good paving will be adhered to", were the words of the Transport Minister.

The Transport Ministry will rely on the Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales de la Universidad de Costa Rica (the University of Costa Rica laboratory) to analyze the material used in the paving process.

The 22 contracts were given out to several paving companies that will begin work in various area in San José, the Atlantic area, the northern area and as well the north and south Pacific areas.

González added that given the strong rains already experienced and to continue during this rainy season, it won't be until early 2007 when a significative improvement to the national roadway will be noticed.