By Wendy Anders

By 2021, San José, Costa Rica’s westbound Route 27 should have some major changes in place. Costa Rica’s National Concessions Council (CNC) found that the existing road has reached a saturation point of 70 percent and requires expansion.

The highway’s current operators, concessionaire Globalvia, are required under their contract to expand the stretch between La Sabana Metropolitan Park, where the highway leaves the capital city, and Ciudad Colón, a small town some 13 kms west of San José, to six lanes, three in each direction, said Silvia Jimenez, technical secretary at the CNC.

“An agreement was made in December 2016 with Globalvia and a commission formed by members of the CNC, the National Roadway Council (Conavi), the University of Costa Rica’s national materials laboratory (Lanamme), the country’s architectural and geology boards, and the Construction Chamber,” continued Jimenez in a press statement.

The commission’s members explained that “… we still do not know what the cost of the road project is, nor whether toll prices will increase. In order to define that, the expansion project needs to be further defined, and needs to be reviewed by authorities.”

The expansion, which will include widening bridges, drainage systems, and other related infrastructure, will commence in early 2019.

The CNC is waiting for Globalvia (also known as Autopistas del Sol), who will bear the costs of the project, to present a proposal with details on the expansion, said the commission.