{"id":2959,"date":"2018-02-08T12:35:21","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T11:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/?p=2959"},"modified":"2018-02-14T19:50:10","modified_gmt":"2018-02-14T18:50:10","slug":"routes-to-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/routes-to-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Routes to the future"},"content":{"rendered":"
Over the last decade, Costa Rica has undertaken several action plans to improve its transport infrastructure, an objective with which Ineco has been collaborating since 2004 with work that has included a modernisation plan for the airport network, a National Transport Plan and a feasibility study for the implementation of a rail transport system in the metropolitan area of the capital, San Jos\u00e9 (see ITRANSPORTE 50<\/a>)<\/i>.<\/p>\n Improvement programmes for all transport networks continue, and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is now working on a new one, known as the Transportation Infrastructure Programme (PIT), financed by two loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to the tune of 450 million dollars. To carry out all administrative, technical and environmental management of the projects, the Ministry, in collaboration with the IDB, issued an international call for tenders which was won by a consortium formed by Ineco and Acciona. Since mid-2016, the consortium has been responsible for the comprehensive management of the programme, which includes infrastructure projects of strategic importance for roads and ports which will complete and provide continuity to previous ones.<\/p>\n This is the case with the design of the upgrading and widening to four lanes of three stretches of the RN-1 Northern Inter-American Highway between the towns of Ca\u00f1as and Barranca. This section is part of the Inter-American Highway, which is the name for the Central American section of the Pan-American Highway, an extremely long network of roads measuring 48,000 kilometres in total that runs the entire length of the continent from Alaska to Ushuaia in Argentina. The Costa Rican section of this road is of great importance for the internal mobility of people and goods. It crosses the entire country in two large sections, known as the Northern and Southern Inter-American Highways, and the PIT includes several design projects aimed at different points along this important road.<\/p>\n Since 2004, Ineco has collaborated on several programmes to improve Costa Rica\u2019s transport infrastructure<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In terms of the Northern Inter-American Highway, the plan is to widen approximately 70 kilometres of road to four lanes on the Ca\u00f1as-Limonal, Limonal-San Gerardo and San Gerardo-Barranca stretches. Also included is the construction of hard shoulders, pavements and pedestrian crossings in populated areas, crossings for wildlife and bicycle lanes. The MOPT, with the support of consortium staff, has met with the residents of the area to inform them about the projects, hear their questions and suggestions and promote road safety measures. This action will provide continuity to another one that started in 2016 on the 50.5-kilometre stretch between Ca\u00f1as and Liberia, which was widened to four lanes in a previous programme, also financed by the IDB.<\/p>\n