No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeBusinessPublic Works Minister pledges to open La Platina bridge next week

Public Works Minister pledges to open La Platina bridge next week

Public Works and Transport Minister Carlos Villalta said that vehicle passage on the six lanes of the bridge over the Virilla River, better known here as “La Platina” bridge, will reopen next week.

Villalta said in a public statement on Wednesday evening that ministry crews have finished their work on the expansion joints, the structures that ministry experts hope will fix the problem that gave the bridge its infamous nickname.

Workers are currently placing guardrails on the pedestrian lanes, placing some concrete layers and finishing other details on the bridge located on the General Cañas highway, the main route between the capital San José and the province of Alajuela.

Then they will move to the final stages consisting in setting up the illumination system and lane demarcation, and cleaning the structure and the road.

Weekend closure

Starting on Friday night crews, from the National Power and Light Company will begin installing utility poles and setting up the lighting system along the bridge.

This work will require the closure of one of the three lanes currently available, starting at 10:00 p.m. Friday and until the early hours of Saturday, Villalta said. MOPT crews then will begin painting traffic demarcation along the three new lanes, and on Sunday will complete the other three.

Finally, crews will proceed to clean the structure so that it can be ready for opening at the beginning of the week.

The administration of President Luis Guillermo Solís is the third, following those of former presidents Oscar Arias and Laura Chinchilla, to promise to fix and expand the bridge that handles some 90,000 cars daily.

Several failed attempts to fix the bridge since 2009 cost various public officials their posts.

Trending Now

Honduras Reinstates Mask Mandate Amid Rise in Respiratory Illnesses

Honduran health officials have reinstated a nationwide mask mandate following a spike in respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, flu, and a fast-spreading Omicron subvariant known...

Chiquita Executives Convicted in Colombia for Financing Death Squads

Colombian justice on Wednesday sentenced seven former executives of the multinational banana company Chiquita Brands to more than 11 years in prison and a...

Venezuelan Migrants Describe Hellish Stay in El Salvador Jail

Mervin Yamarte left Venezuela with his younger brother, hoping for a better life. But after a perilous jungle march, US detention, and long months in...

Keylor Navas Joins Pumas After Controversial Exit from Newell’s

Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas is officially the newest player for Pumas UNAM, but his move from Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys has been anything...

Costa Rica Embraces IHRA to Combat Antisemitism in Region

Costa Rica has formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. This step positions the country as the sixth in...

Can Costa Rica’s Blue Zone Preserve Its Longevity Legacy?

The Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica is recognized worldwide as one of the five blue zones, where people live beyond the age of 90...
L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica