San José - Caldera To
Be Inaugurated Today Amid Protests and
Roadblocks
Today, the inauguration of the San José -
Caldera takes place, when after almost 40
years of planning and delays, Costa Rican
president, Oscar Arias, makes the 77
kilometre road official.
However, a group of residents of Santa Ana
and Cuidad Colon are not very happy about
all of this and this morning took to
blocking the section of the road that runs
through their community, saying the road is
unsafe and never considered the concerns of
the area residents.
The road that was first promised in 1978 was
to have cost us$158 million dollars in 2001
when the Rodriguez administration announced
its intention to complete the road. The good
intentions followed delays and was put on
the back burner by the Pacheco
administration that followed, only to
revived by the current administration.
Karla Gonzalez, the former ministra of the
MOPT, said that the delays were due to the
problems in the expropriation of some 100
lots that run across the highway and the
ramps.
The total cost of the completed highway is
$230 million dollars.
Today's inauguration marks the completion of
dream of decades. But also a headache for
some living near the highway.
The Santa Ana/Cuidad Colon residents are
upset mainly at the installation of the toll
booths leading to and from those communities
from the highway. For the time being,
although the toll booths are built, the
charge of tolls has been suspended while the
government attempts a resolution between the
residents and the road concessionaire,
Autopistas del Sol.
The residents, early this morning erected a
blockade on the section of the highway
immediately west of the toll booths, forcing
the presence of the Fuerza Pública (police)
and anti-riot squad to keep the calm and
clear the road.
"This road has no face, just like the lack
of face of the president", said one resident
for the television cameras.
The residents say that the road is unsafe,
it lacks proper signage, safety barriers,
markings, etc, for it to be opened. Some
argue that the early opening, the highway
was to have opened at the end of March, is a
political ploy by the Arias administration
to get Laura Chinchilla elected in less than
two weeks, when Costa Ricans vote for a new
president.
In addition, the bank accounts of the
Autopistas del Sol were frozen on Tuesday by
a court hearing a charge by the federation
of architects and engineers, who claim that
the concessionaire owes them millions in
fees, which Autopistas del Sol denies.
Environmentalists argue that the
construction of the new highway also damaged
the natural eco systems of the area and
continues to contaminate the local rivers.
Despite the protests, accusations and legal
battles, the completion of the highway will
mean a big boost for toursism in the Pacific
coast, as travel time from San José's Juan
Santamaría International airport to
destinations in Guanacaste (North Pacific),
Puntarenas, Jacó and Quepos (Central
Pacific) and the southern zone (South
Pacific) will be cut by at least 45 minutes
or more.
For instance, it took between 90 and 120
minutes yesterday to travel to Caldera,
Puntarenas and Jacó. It will take today only
52 minutes. Quepos is less than two hours
away, instead of three. Liberia is less than
2.5 hours instead of 3.5. And so are
Tamarindo, Flamingo, Coco, Hermosa and
Papagayo almost an hour less away that
yesterday.
Whatever the reason for the protests, one
thing is for sure, Arias is delivering on a
dream or a headache, depending on which side
of the road you are on, decades in the
making. |
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