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Play “Oxígeno:” Farse about science, Sept. 3-4, 8 p.m.; Sept. 5 at 5 p.m., National Theater.

Fiestas in San Ramón
Including rides, food, sports and cultural shows, through Sept. 5, San Ramón, Alajuela.

International Book Fair
Cultural activities, book sales, talks, Aug. 28-Sept. 5, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., CENAC.

“El método Gronholm”
Performed by Grupo Yicrá, through Sept. 5, Fri., 8 p.m., Oscar Fessler Theater, Barrio Escalante. Info: 2221-1273.

Lanthern Workshop
Sept. 4, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Museums of the Central Bank, underneath Plaza de la Cultura.

II Whales and Dolphins Festival
Including Whales Tours, cultural shows, sand sculptures, sports, and talks, Sept. 3-5, 10-12, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Ballena National Park. 

“Looking towards the Contemporary World”
Japanese photo exhibit, through Sept. 23, Municipal Theater, Alajuela, 2232-1255. 

Andre Agassi Farewell Tour
With Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras, Anna Kournikova vs. Ashley Harkleroad, Sept. 4, 6 p.m., Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium, Alajuela. Info: 2206-7770, www.specialticket.net.

Long Distance Race “No more Violence against Children”
10 km., Sept. 5, 8 a.m., leaving and arriving from the National Children's Hospital, Paseo Colón, registration at Runners' Stores (Heredia, Pavas, Curridabat). Info: www.gsxg.net. 

“La Pasada Festival”
Moving Our Lady of Los Angeles from Cartago Cathedral to the Basilica, includes cultural shows, flower carpets, activities for children, concerts, mascarades, Sept. 5, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Play for Kids “Estaba la pajara pinta”
Sundays, 11 a.m., El Triciclo Theater, Ca. 15, Av. 8/10, 2222-2624.

Expo-Honey
Including tasting, cultural exhibits, dances, sports, Sept. 5, 11 a.m., Paseo de las Flores Mall, Heredia.

Heavy rains on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning forced 175 people into temporary shelters in the Central Valley, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste and on the Osa Peninsula in the country's Southern Zone.

In Osa, the Agua Buena bridge near Rincón collapsed, leaving at least three communities – Rancho Quemado, Quebrada Tortuga and Agujitas – stranded. The rainfall also flooded several roads in the canton.

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) transferred 60 residents from Golfito, a port city across the Golfo Dulce from the Osa Peninsula, to a temporary shelter because of flash floods.

In Guanacaste, floodwaters forced 90 people out of their homes, and torrents damaged the Los Gemelos bridge in the town of Cañas. The CNE moved those affected to the La Pacífica de Corobicí school in Cañas.

Near Cartago, east of San José, 25 people were moved from their flooded houses in San Diego de Tres Ríos to a local gym.

The CNE has issued a green alert for the country for the remainder of the rainy season. The green alert is the lowest of the country's three alert levels. According to the National Meteorological Institute, the unusually wet rainy season is due to the presence of the La Niña weather phenomenon.

The Costa Rica Tennis Club in San José will play host to the first Costa Rica Squash Open tournament Sept. 8 to 11. Sixteen Costa Rican and international squash players will compete for a chance at their share of $6,750 in prize money. Among them will be Canadian Robin Clarke, ranked 71st in the world, and Mexican Jorge Baltazar, ranked 91st. Also playing is Costa Rica's top squash player, Andrés Echeverría.

Currently, 11 of the 16 competitor positions are filled. Hopefuls will compete to qualify for the remaining five positions during elimination matches Sept. 6 and 7.

Traditionally, the Costa Rica Tennis Club hosts the annual Independencia Squash Tournament, an event in which Costa Rican and international players of all skill levels compete in 14 categories, including women's divisions. The Independencia tournament will begin Sept. 6, running simultaneously with the Costa Rica Squash Open.

Despite the sport's 25-year history in Costa Rica, this is the first time a tournament endorsed by the Professional Squash Association will be held here.

“The objective is to put Costa Rican squash on the international map,” said Carlos Schonenberg, squash coach at the Costa Rica Tennis Club.

Events will start at 9 a.m. and end at 10 p.m. every day of the tournament. Spectator entrance to the tournament is free, although space is limited.

In an interview with The Tico Times in July, Vice President Luis Liberman said transportation in Costa Rica is often “in the hands of God.”

Liberman's sentiment is widely shared. Be it crossing a rickety bridge over a gushing river in a rainstorm or making a narrow turn on an unmarked and unlit foggy mountain pass at night, traveling on Costa Rica's roads can sometimes be terrifying.

In large part, this fear is based on repeated instances of infrastructure failures throughout the country. In the last year, a bridge partially collapsed over the Río Seco in the western province of Puntarenas and closed the Inter-American Highway for several days; a three-car accident on the Lagarto River bridge on the same highway killed two when the lead driver slammed on the brakes to avoid a large pothole; a motorcyclist was killed when she struck a fallen rock on the new Caldera Highway to the Pacific; and – in the most notorious incident – six people died and two were seriously injured when an 80-year-old wooden suspension bridge collapsed near the Pacific-slope town of Orotina, causing a bus to plunge into the Río Tárcoles.

As the incidents add up, the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) continues to be reactive in its responses, often announcing plans to rectify problems only after an accident has occurred. Two days after the bridge over the Río Seco partially collapsed in late July, MOPT responded by vowing to improve or rebuild 29 bridges throughout the northwestern Guanacaste province. When the motorcyclist on the Caldera Highway perished in May, the new highway, whose January opening was considered by many to be rushed, was closed so additional construction to prevent further accidents could take place.

But the ministry's new leadership, headed by Vice Minister María Lorena López, recently has been surprisingly candid about the condition of national infrastructure. Last week, López referred to the current administration of the nation's roads and bridges as “very ineffective.”

López's statement followed a June report by the Comptroller General's Office that found that ¢ 4.9 billion ($9.8 million) in bridge materials purchased by MOPT in 2008 remained unused, and were decaying in a fenced lot under heavy rain and sun. The materials, which include hundreds of large beams and pillars, were intended to be used for improvements on municipal bridges and roads in parts of Alajuela, Sarapiquí, Tibás and Chilamate.

According to Carlos Acosta, director of the National Roadway Council (CONAVI), the failure to use the materials is a result of a lack of initiative on the part of the municipalities. By way of the Tax Simplification and Efficiency Law, commonly known as Law 8114, any transportation infrastructure not considered national roadways is by default considered district roads, which are the responsibility of the municipalities to maintain. MOPT and CONAVI can provide the municipalities materials to build or maintain infrastructure, but their use remains the responsibility of the local governments.

For more on this story, see the Sept. 3 print or digital edition of The Tico Times.