New $1 million-plus bridge in Osa Drake

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The Institute of Rural Development, known as INDER, has 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 $1,195,573. 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 have invested more than $47,036,795 in infrastructure in rural areas such as roads and bridges.

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.

On September, as A.M. Costa Rica previously reported, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced that increases in tourism in the Osa Peninsula* area were due to the improvements made at the local airport located in Drake Bay*.

According to the authorities, the cost of improvements to the airport was $5,880,979, financed with the institution resources.

Among the improvements made to the airport in Drake are the expansion of the landing strip, the construction of a parking platform for three type B aircraft, and the improvement of the security fence.

According to Civil Aviation authorities, the number of passengers who have used the airport, from January to July, was 12,727. This is equivalent to almost twice the number of passengers registered in the same period last year, which were 6,525.

The number of flights, including both arrivals and departures, at the airport from January to June, was 1,686, which is 613 flights more than the same period last year.

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