Nosara won’t see its street paved this year despite commitments from the Public Works and Transportation Ministry and the National Roadways Council (Conavi) to finish it in July 2019.
To date, not a single meter of asphalt has been laid.
Conavi still hasn’t bought the asphalt mix and won’t be buying it any time soon because it didn’t include it in the 2019 budget and doesn’t have the money to purchase it now, according to the press department.
Conavi said that the purchasing process will delay the project for roughly 6 months.
Because of these delays, the residents of Nosara will have to wait until next year to see the route paved, according to MOPT engineer and the project’s technical director Alonso Mora.
“(With the asphalt available) laying it may take between 15-22 days, weather conditions permitting,” Mora said.
Deputy coordinator of the Route 160 Committee and Nosara resident Gerardo Brenes said it’s would be negligent of the institutions to start the job on Route 160 without the asphalt.
It’s crazy to make workers widen the street, lay material and everything without the money to buy the asphalt,” Brenes said.
Base Pouring Paralyzed
The heavy rains in May halted work on the 10 kilometers and turned them into a road of dirt and ditches. In June, the road looks much better.
“Machines started to work on May 30, fixing holes and ditches. The rain stopped that day that had been preventing the job from continuing,” Brenes said.
For now, the process for pouring the base is suspended until Conavi approves the purchase of an impermeable material that protects the base from rain, said technical director Alonso Mora.
On May 30, the Route 160 committee and the Nosara Development Association met with institutions to coordinate advances in paving the road.
The surface treatment (for impermeability) will be like an asphalt layer. It won’t have the same conditions or structural capacity, but it will make the road impermeable and guarantee that the base doesn’t get damaged,” Mora said.
According to him, the project was also delayed because of the expiration of the accord MOPT and Conavi signed for the first time in June 2017, which expired in July 2018. The renewal was signed on April 1, 2019. The document establishes the actions both institutions must take to finish the 10 kilometers.
Conavi reduced payments for travel expenses and overtime hours for workers
How is it possible that it takes almost a year to sign an agreement that is basically a copy/paste of the previous one? A delay of three months is understandable, but not a year,” said deputy director Brenes.
MOPT continued work on the Nosara road throughout the negotiations of the new agreement.
“We laid the sub-base on the four kilometers that were left and we continued the construction of drainage ditches. We also did routine maintenance on the road,” Mora said.
Despite the delays and the years of broken promises, the member of the Route 160 Committee says this time residents trust the work of Mora.
“We are crossing our fingers for there not to be another delay. The new administration has shown openness and willingness to communicate directly with the community,” Brenes said.
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