Heavy Raind And Mudslides Cause Closure Of Braulio Carrillo
Heavy rains since Saturday have forced a portion of the Braulio Carrillo - route 32 - highway, the major connection between San José and Limón, to be closed.

Major mud slides at at least five different points along the mountainous part of the road forced the closure on Monday and authorities expected to have it re-opened by early this morning.

However, officials announced that closure will until the clear all the debris from the roadway, hopefully completing the work by the end of today (Wednesday), but could go longer, depending on the weather.

Pedro Castro, vice-minister of Obras Públicas said that several work crews are working at full speed to clear the highway and hope to have it re-opened, at least partially, by this afternoon.

Yesterday, Castro said, they opened one lane to allow truck traffic for several hours as Tránsito officials kept a close eye on the situation.

The alternate routes to Guapiles and points west to Limón are the Vara Blanca through Heredia, or the Turrialba route for heavy vehicles.

The Vara Blanca route is road that goes through the city of Heredia on the way to the Poas Volcano, following the Barva route, while the Turrialba route  is through Cartago.

Expect delays and allow more time as the alternate routes will be heavy congested at the narrow points.

Tránsito officials will posted along the alternate routes to ensure that drivers respect the signalization and avoid accidents, that could be provoked by further mud slides.

Affected by the rain is also the route to Cuidad Neily and Rio Claro in the souther zone which completely closed for the time being. A sewer main collapsed and repair crews are working on re-opening the road.