San José - Caldera
Highway To Be Opened On Jan 27, Two Months
Early
The new autopista a Caldera will be
inaugurated on January 27th, one week before
the national elections, Costa Rican
president, Oscar Arias, announced in
Puntarenas on Saturday.
"For the first time I made it here
(Puntarenas) in 50 minutes by way of the new
highway", Arias told a crowd during a tour
of the Pacific port town.
The section between Santa Ana and Orotina of
the new San José - Caldera highway that is
not yet open to the public, had been
scheduled to be open in March, pushed up
from the original June opening date when
construction commenced two years ago.
However, advances in the work enable it open
early.
President Arias called the new highway a
"gift to Puntarenses", saying that Costa
Rica has waited almost 40 years for this
highway to become a reality, for the port
city to have easy and fast access to San
José and vice-versa.
The new road allows travel between La Sabana
on the west side of San José to Caldera,
south of Puntarenas, in less than 45
minutes. Currently it takes between 90 and
120 minutes to make the same trip.
The savings in time is because the highway
cuts through the mountains, eliminating the
steep climbs and drops on the current
routes, as well the slowdown in traffic
caused by big trucks and buses.
The sections between San José and Santa Ana
and Orotina and Caldera have been open since
last year, remaining was the middle portion.
The cost of tolls to travel the 77
kilometres of the new highway, from end to
end, is about ˘1.500 colones each way for
passenger vehicles and motorcycles, more for
heavy trucks and buses.
On Christmas day, Inside Costa Rica was able
to ride the road. Click here for that
report.
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