By Christopher Howard

The idea of costal highway linking Quepos in the Central Pacific with Dominical in the South Pacific was originally conceived during the government of José María “Don Pepe” Figueres Ferrer in the year 1970. Work was begun in 1976 under the government of Daniel Oduber Quirós, but the concession was cancelled when a Spanish company pulled out of the project. Thirty years of delays were basically due to a lack of funding and bureaucratic snags which kept the project in limbo until the Arias administration (2006-2010) made it a priority to finish this baldly needed north-south artery.

The transport ministry (Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes or MOPT) has promised that by the end of the 2009 the entire 42 kilometers (26 miles) between Quepos and Dominical will be paved. The project will be a boon to tourism and open up the whole area south of Quepos. Trucks will be able to easily go north and south along the coast without traveling on the Pan-American Highway that passes through San José, and Cartago and thus avoid also crossing the dreaded Cerro de la Muerteor “Hill of Death” (appropriately named due to the sometimes treacherous driving conditions and cold temperatures) twice when going from one border to another.

The highway already has been graded. The paving will be done in two sections. Consorcio Meco-Santa Fe has the job between Savegre and Quepos. That stretch is about 19 kilometers (about 13 miles) and will cost $16.4 million. The section from Savegre to Dominical is 22.6 kilometers (about 14 miles) and the responsibility of Constructora Solís-Sánchez Carvajal. The contract is for $15.5 million. The Meco-Santa Fe contract has a deadline of eight months. The Solís-Sánchez Carvajal has a 10-month deadline, according to MOPT. In both sections the workers will install a 30-centimeter (12-inch) sub base, a 20-centimeter (eight-inch) base and a 13-centimeter (5.1-inch) road surface.

The majority of the bridges on the road also are expected to be finished by the middle of the year 2009. Bridges at Hatillo Viejo and Hatillo Nuevo along the Costanera Sur route were begun in May of 2008. In addition, in January 2009 work began to rebuild and widen a bridge over the wide Río Savegre.