Bailey
Bridges,
A
Temporary
Permanent
Solution
In
Costa
Rica
They
are
described
as a
giant
Lego
set,
but
in
reality,
in a
country
like
Costa
Rica,
the
Bailey
is
the
ointment
to
solving
traffic
problems
and
cheaper
that
a
fixed
structure.
The
Bailey
comes
from
England
and
are
expensive.
But,
government
bean
keepers
have
found
that
they
are
much
less
expensive
at
almost
¢4
million
colones
per
metre
than
the
more
than
four
times
it
costs
to
construct
a
permanent
bridge,
as
estimated
by
the
Consejo
Nacional
de
Vialidad
(CONAVI).
José
Luis
Salas,
the
new
CONAVI
director,
explained
that
each
55
metre
Bailey
structures
costs
the
government
¢200
million
colones,
while
the
construction
of a
similar
length
bridge
is
one
billion
colones.
Like
the
Lego
building
blocks,
Baileys
are
quick
to
install
and
can
last
a
long
time
in
place,
in
contrast
to
the
months
it
takes
to
construct
a
concrete
bridge.
Baileys
also
require
less
maintenance.
The
ministerio
de
Obras
Publicas
y
Transportes
(MOPT)
has
began
using
Bailey
system
to
solve
immediate
problems,
but
in
time
it
has
converted
the
temporary
solution
into
a
permanent
one.
And
Costa
Ricans
have
gotten
accustomed
to
the
Baileys.
Take
for
example
the
Bailey
installed
in
Leon
XIII
in
La
Uruca
in
May
2008
and
still
there
today.
The
other,
on
ruta
106,
betwee
La
Aurora
and
Barreal
de
Hereida,
that
has
been
in
service
for
more
than
four
years.
These
are
just
two
examples
of
many.
Tibás,
the
community
on
the
north
side
of
San
José,
has
the
greatest
number
of
Baileys
installed,
as
the
MOPT
installs
a
Bailey
at
every
opportunity,
and
from
what
we
can
evidence,
no
thoughts
on
removing
or
replacing
them
with
a
permanent
structure.
The
CONAVI
has
no
accurate
figures,
only
estimating
that
there
are
some
80
Bailey
structures
in
use
in
the
country.
It
appears
that
the
transport
department
doesn't
depend
on
the
years
in
use,
rather
on
the
location
and
urgency,
such
as
in
high
traffic
areas.
One
of
the
few
location
where
the
Bailey
was
actually
used
for
a
determined
time
and
then
take
down
was
the
temporary
solution
by
Autopistas
del
Sol
when
it
borrowed
Bailey
structures
to
move
traffic
through
a
section
of
washed
out
road
on
the
San
José
-
Caldera
more
than
two
years
ago.
In
that
case,
the
road
is
under
a
private
concession
and
the
MOPT
pressured
the
concessionaire
for
a
permanent
repair,
something
it
fails
to
do
on
roads
-
all
other
roads
-
under
its
own
management.
For
the
rest
of
this
year
the
CONAVI
is
expecting
to
install
13
more
Bailey
bridge
and
another
15
next
year,
all
in
locations
where
existing
bridges
are
in a
poor
state
of
condition
or
have
already
fallen,
leaving
communities
isolated.
The
MOPT
defends
this
practice
by
pointing
on
the
autopista
General
Cañas,
re-opened
in
less
than
10
days
after
a
sinkhole
completely
shut
down
westbound
traffic.
Two
Bailey
bridges
now
move
two
lanes
of
traffic.
facebook
twitter
