San José – Caldera Re-Opens With No Major Congestion
Sunday, July 11th, 2010And it was on July 10 when it re-opened, but only few drivers decided to make the drive on the re-opened route and the expected congestion never occurred.
Perhaps it was the heavy afternoon rain that kept many at home. However, the highway re-opened at the stroke of midning on Saturday and for most of the morning, until the afternoon rain, the weather a sunny and dry.
The 11 kilometres between Orotina and Atenas is the section that has been prone to rock falls and mud slides from the start of the rainy season in May.
The ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) closed the section following as series of accidents and one death directly related to the road conditions, allowing the concessionaire, Autopistas del Sol, to make changes and reducing the risk to drivers.
There three major sections on the highway that are still being worked on and traffic along those sections is being monitored and controlled by officials of Autopista and the Policía de Tránsito (traffic police).
In one section, the entire westbound lanes have been closed off and traffic, in both directions, have to use the eastbound lanes.
In its first day of re-opening and amid a torrential downpour in the later afternoon and fog at night, no incidents were reported.
The Policía de Tránsito reported that traffic flow was good all day long, no major congestion at any points along the highway.
Tránsito authorities say that many people still don’t know that the highway is re-opened, despite the media blits since Friday announcing Saturday’s re=opening and the media attention for the past week as MOPT officials considered the decision to re=open.
