-Published: Tuesday, November 19, 2019-
Construction begins for a $6.2 million bridge destroyed by Nate in 2017
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ministry of Public Works announced the beginning of work on a new bridge between the communities of General Viejo and San Isidro de El General in the southern zone of the country.
According to the ministry, construction will begin on this month. The bridge was destroyed during the passage of Tropical Storm Nate in October 2017. The storm caused 14 deaths here and later grew to be a hurricane before hitting the United States.
Rodolfo Méndez-Mata, public works minister, said the cost of construction is $6.2 million financed with funds from the National Emergency Commission.
The bridge over the General Viejo River is expected to be open by November 2020. The structure will be made of 27 galvanized steel modules, each 4.5 meters long. Above them, a concrete slab 8 meters wide will be placed.
The bridge will have two lanes 3.68 meters wide and the asphalt binder on the concrete slab will be 5 centimeters thick.
The bridge will also have a sidewalk 1.5 meters wide with pedestrian railings and steel floors.
The structure will have reinforced concrete bastions type wall, 12 meters high by 8.8 meters wide and 8.8 meters high by 8.8 meters wide, respectively, due to the unevenness between each end of the riverbed.
According to the authorities, the bridge is planned for a useful life of 50 years.
Related to recent investments in building bridges in rural zones, in October, the Institute of Rural Development, known as INDER, inaugurated a new bridge located in the community of Drake, in the Canton of Osa in the southern zone of the country.
The structure cost $1.2 million The span now provides all-weather access over the Río Drake to the community that is on the west coast of the Osa Peninsula.
According to the institute, the construction of the bridge was financed with about $928,935 of its own resources, plus an investment of the Municipality of Osa of $266,638.
The bridge is 45 meters long, it is estimated that 1,500 people will travel continuously through it, said the institute.
According to the institute, in the last five years, it has invested more than $47 million in infrastructure such as roads and bridges in rural areas.
Also, during the activity of the inauguration of the bridge, an agreement was signed between the institute and the Drake Development Community Association. The agreement will allow the association to use facilities owned by the institute to develop tourist activities.
According to the institute, the tourism promotion project, titled Casa Suita, will also receive support from the Costa Rican USA Foundation for Cooperation, know as CRUSA.
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