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24 Jan 2006 |
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Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, January 24, 2006
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Pacheco Promises
Overdue Road Maintenance
Thousands of kilometers of roads around Costa Rica have lacked maintenance for nearly two years, and with gaping potholes at every turn, the neglect shows. But President Abel Pacheco, with only three months left in his administration, claimed yesterday that the neglect has come to an end.
(Click for more)
Three Adults Drown
Saving Children in River
Red Cross workers found the body of a German man yesterday who, along with a Costa Rican couple, drowned Sunday while saving two children from drowning in the Savegre River, in the southern mountainous village of San Gerardo de Dota, according to Red Cross spokeswoman Noemi Coto.
(Click for more)
Palmares Festivities Concluded with
No Deaths or Highway Injuries
A light collision between two vehicles was the only accident on the highways leading to Palmares, northwest of San José, during the town's 12-day festivities that concluded Sunday, according to a report from the Public Works and Transport Ministry.
(Click for more)
January 24
Speakers' Forum
“Cosmology,” discussion in English by John Hutcherson, 7 p.m., Big Mike's Place, Escazú, west of San José. Info: 289-6333, 821-4708, or Mike at 289-6087.
Joshua Wilson
Metafractal photography exhibit, through Feb. 20, Sophia Wanamaker Gallery, Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center, La Sabana, west of San José. Info: 207-7501.
Seminar on Price Re-Adjustments in Administrative Hiring
Includes snacks, materials, and certificate, Jan. 27, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Sala de Capacitación, Cámara Industrias Costa Rica. Registration: 202-5600 ext. 609, 617, 630, 631 or 662, fax 234-6089, capacitacioncontinua@gmail.com
Edited By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
Pacheco Promises Overdue Road Maintenance
By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net
Thousands of kilometers of roads around Costa Rica have lacked maintenance for nearly two years, and with gaping potholes at every turn, the neglect shows. But President Abel Pacheco, with only three months left in his administration, claimed yesterday that the neglect has come to an end.
Pacheco and Minister of Public Works and Transport Randall Quirós announced yesterday that seven construction companies have been awarded three-year contracts to maintain 4,500 kilometers of national roads. The initial investment for this maintenance will be $36 million and could reach $100 million, according to Alejandro Molina, director of the National Roadway Council (CONAVI).
The companies will fill potholes when they appear, rehabilitate road surfaces and bridges when they are getting worn out, and repave them with asphalt or concrete as needed – jobs that have not been done with regular vigilance in some parts of the country since the last contracts expired two years ago.
While Costa Ricans have been complaining about the terrible state of Costa Rican roads for years – to the point that professional drivers are threatening road blocks if improvements aren't made – Pacheco seemed determined to change his growing unpopularity before he leaves office May 8. Pacheco told the press yesterday potholes have been a “constant suffering” of his government.
The last maintenance contracts were awarded in early 2001, and expired three years later.
Under the new maintenance contracts, the companies are “responsible for preserving, in a continued and sustained manner, the good state of roads, in order to guarantee optimum service to the user,” but they are not required to construct new roads or reconstruct existing roads, according to a CONAVI statement.
The maintenance contracts also require the companies to remove landslides if they strike, construct retaining walls if needed, clean shoulders, and weed along the routes.
A total of 22 contracts were awarded to the seven companies, with the majority going to the companies Santa Fe, Ltda. and Meco, S.A. The latter will maintain the paved roads in Northern Guanacaste, which has some of the worst roads in the country. The paved roads of the Nicoya Peninsula – also very neglected – will be maintained by Sanchez Carvajal S.A.
Molina and Quirós hope maintenance work can begin in March. In the meantime, the National Emergency Commission (CNE) has helped suspend the normal lengthy contract approval process for more urgent projects on 300 stretches of road. A total of ¢5.5 billion ($11 million) will be spent in the coming months to fill potholes and repave and rehabilitate roads.
See Friday's print or online edition of The Tico Times for the full story.
Three Adults Drown
Saving Children in River
By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
Red Cross workers found the body of a German man yesterday who, along with a Costa Rican couple, drowned Sunday while saving two children from drowning in the Savegre River, in the southern mountainous village of San Gerardo de Dota, according to Red Cross spokeswoman Noemi Coto.
Kai Carpenski, 31, was helping Carlos Manuel Ortiz, 54, and his wife Susan Marie Pérez, 46, to pull their young son and another boy out from underneath a forceful waterfall, where they had become trapped while swimming. The three adults were able to get the children out of the water before drowning themselves.
The children, who were very cold and shaken up, were attended by Red Cross workers who, along with community members, quickly arrived to the scene. The children, whose ages are unknown, were not taken to the hospital, Coto said.
Carpenski, a German who was the owner of the hotel El Manantial in San Gerardo de Dota and also Ortiz's brother in law, was apparently leading the couple and children on a guided tour of the waterfall, Coto told The Tico Times.
Red Cross workers were able to remove the bodies of Ortiz and Pérez from the water Sunday, but Carpenski's body disappeared underneath the waterfall and was not found until 11:20 a.m. yesterday.
Area residents told La Nación Ortiz was an agricultural engineer who worked with coffee companies and that he lived with his wife and children in Montes de Oca, San Pedro, east of San José.
Palmares Festivities Concluded with
No Deaths or Highway Injuries
By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
A light collision between two vehicles was the only accident on the highways leading to Palmares, northwest of San José, during the town's 12-day festivities that concluded Sunday, according to a report from the Public Works and Transport Ministry.
Traffic police gave out 2,100 tickets during the festival, which attracts crowds from all over the country. Most were for speeding, excessive alcohol consumption and driving with an expired license or circulation permit.
Traffic Police assistant director Huanelge Gutiérrez said police also seized the cars of 49 drivers who exceeded acceptable alcohol consumption limits. These owners could begin the process of reclaiming their cars yesterday.
Traffic flow during the festivities was considered “optimal” by transit authorities, according to the statement, thanks to efforts to reduce highway congestion on roads leading up to Palmares.
Gutiérrez also expressed satisfaction that fewer Costa Ricans were drinking and driving than in previous years and pointed to a large number of visitors arriving in rented mini buses with designated, non-drinking drivers rather than driving themselves.
