Colombian Consortium
Interested In Building
New Road To Limón
A Colombian consortium
has expressed an
interest in improving
and maintaining the
Braulio Carrillo highway
(San José - Limón) and
building a new road to
the port city connecting
Limón to Cartago by way
of Turrialba and
Siquirres.
The new road would cut
the trip between San
José and Limón to less
that one and half hours,
about 45 minutes less it
takes now for the trip.
The new road would not
only save time, but fuel
consumption as well.
The consortium is
looking for a 25-30 year
concession to recover
its us$650 million
dollar investment it
estimates the new 260
kilometre road would
cost.
The consortium
Autopistas del Caribe
estimates the road would
take six years to
finish.
Mauricio Millán, the
project's director,
explained that the
project would entail
developing a new
corridor between
Cartago, Turrialba and
Siquirres, a road that
would not have many
steep inclines and blind
curves, as the new road
would be built in the
valleys rather than
follow the mountain
route.
The construction would
include at least 27
bridges and six tunnels.
As to the Braulio
Carrillo, the consortium
plans to expand the
current highway from two
lanes to four and
include shoulders to
allow for vehicle to
stop in case of an
emergency, something
that is a constant
problem on the highway
as stalled or stopped
vehicles can only do so
on the roadway.
Aside from the benefit
of reduced travel time
and fuel savings, Millán
explained that the new
road would also reduce
traffic accidents and
deaths which are
constant on the current
highway known as Ruta
32.
Millán added that once
the new highway is
built, Ruta 32 would be
primarily used for truck
traffic. |
