Costanera Sur
To Be Complete By December After 47 Years of
Planning
It's only been 47 years in the making, but
finally the Costanera Sur will be ready by
December the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y
Transportes (MOPT) promises.
The Costanera Sur connects the communities
Central Pacific communities to the Southern
Zone and once completely finished will save
drivers up to two hours, the time it takes
now to make the 42 kilometre trip between
Quepos and Dominical.
The Costanera Sur also eliminates the need
to cross the Cerro de la Muerte to get to
Pérez Zeledón, offering an alternative from
Puntarenas and Guanacaste without having to
pass through San José.
At this time only 20 of the 42 kilometres
have been paved with the first lawyer of
asphalt, with the work continuing daily.
In addition work continues on the important
bridges from Parrita to Dominical. In the
coming weeks it is expected that the
contractor will begin pouring the concrete
slab of the new Parrita bridge, which once
completed, will be a two lane wide bridge
that will eliminate traffic congestion, that
at peak hours can add an hour or more to the
trip, replacing the current one lane bridge
that saw its better days decades ago.
The Costanera Sur is a project that began as
an idea back in 1942 by the Banco
Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE).
However, the recommendation to begin
construction of the project did not occur
until 1962. In 1979 the administration of
Rodrigo Carazo received financing for the
project, however, the money was all spent on
appeals and "improper" payments.
In 1982 the government of Luis Alberto Monge
signs a contract with the Spanish
constructor, Agroman and the building of the
Costanera is on its way. However, in 1987
the Contraloría (Comptroller's office) found
irregularities with the contract whose cost
went from ¢445 million colones to ¢1.8
billion, of that time, creating a scandal of
proportions which forced the then ministro
de Transportes, Guillermo Constenla, to
rescind the Agroman contract.
In 1997 the Belén construction company was
awarded the contract for part of the
project, but bad weather and lack of
financing setback the project.
In 2004 the cost of each kilometre of road
for the remaining 42 kilometres that
connects Quepos to Dominical was estimated
to cost us$1 million dollars and as such the
project comes to a complete halt.
It wasn't until earlier this year (2009)
that the MOPT gave the order to complete the
highway that included widening eight of the
bridges, all financed by the BCIE.
Once complete, the 222 kilometre road runs
from Barranca de Puntarenas to Palmar Sur in
the Osa Peninsula, providing a direct route
to Panama without having to go through San
José. |
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