CONAVI Undecided About Repairs Of General Cañas Sinkhole

"My son, who is six today, will one day be travelling over this (Bailey bridges) when he starts driving" where the words of a tow truck driver who simply explained the inability - or unwillingness - of the country's transport authorities to correct the country's problems in road infrastructure.


HUMOUR: Perhaps the CONAVI can call on the fictional character, superhero The Thing for a helping hand.

On Tuesday, three weeks after the sinkhole appeared on the autopista General Cañas, the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (Conavi), is undecided about the repairs.

By the end of this week the relocation of the oil pipeline by the state refinery, RECOPE, should be completed, the latest stumbling block in the repair work.

But, the CONAVI has a decision to make, continue with the original plan for the repairs, place a series of concrete arches under the current road or build two independent bridges, one in each direction.

Either way the December date of work completion becomes farther and farther away, as the CONAVI has to first complete a feasibility study for each solution and then an economic analysis, before the bidding process for the contract can take place.

Cristian Vargas, manager of maintenance of roads and bridges at CONAVI, explained that the national road authority will need to study the economic feasibility of both alternatives with the idea of impacting traffic flow as little as possible.

Vargas is optimistic that the studies and analysis can be completed quickly and the bid process can start.

"To see men working on erecting structures we will have to wait a little longer", said Vargas.

One only has to look at the inability of the CONAVI to provide a permanent solution to the Virilla or "platina" bridge less than one kilometre east of the sinkhole to know the reality of the situation.