carretera a Braulio Carrillo

One of the main issues you have to deal with in Costa Rica is what the local refer to as the “presas” (That’s Costa Rican Slang for traffic Jams) you can blame it on the working schedule, on the fact that there are just too many cars on the streets; or you can realize that the infrastructure simply needs to be upgraded.

Another problem has to do with the Fog and Heavy rain the drivers have to endure during their travels along the mountain highways in Costa Rica, and you better take my word for it guys, when it rains it pours. And when the clouds go down (even though it looks great) the visibility can be quite poor, so if your plan is to follow the lights of the car in front of you, you may need a new strategy.

Taking this into consideration the government has decided to take some action.

Well the bad news is that there are currently no major plans to upgrade the streets or main highways to deal with the “presas”; the good news however, is that the Ministerio de Obras Publicas y Transportes MOPT (Public Work and Transportation Ministry) is taking the necessary steps to help the drivers with scenarios as the one I described above.

Yes I’m talking about the fog and the visibility stuff

Before the year is gone, several road markers and special paint will be applied to 2000 Km (that’s 1240 miles) on strategic points along the Costa Rica highways. (According to a MOPT spokesman) This initiative also includes an upgrade on conventional road signalization, so that we “Non Costa Ricans” can find our way around more easily.

And yes I agree with you, it was about time!

Costa Rica has many things to offer to everybody on many levels, opportunities for developers, international companies, and off course real estate visionaries; however it also has to improve small but significant issues, like the ones presented by the “presas”.

Let’s hope this new initiative brings more changes in the near future.