During his visit to the community of Corralillo on Wednesday, November 11, Minister of Transportation Carlos Segninigave explanationsto members of the recently-formed Nicoya Peninsula Chorotega Forum (ForoChorotega de La Peninsula de Nicoya) and some 50 residents present in the town’s community center.
The meeting was organized to present reasons why roadwork has not started on routes that are impassable in the cantons of Nicoya and Santa Cruz.
The official explained that one of the biggest obstacles faced by MOPT is that the construction companies that had presented bids to the ministry but were not selectedfiled appeals against the companies that were hired.
The appeals include complaints that the companies contracted by MOPT pay salaries that are below the minimum allowed by law, which was later corroborated by the General Comptroller of the Republic, the entity that rejected the contracts. The process has been delayed because it must be repeated.
In addition, he indicated that the new asphalt plant at the El Chopo site in Cañaswill begin operating in the first half of 2016, and that it is only pending permits from the Environmental Technical Secretary (SETENA – SecretariaTecnicaAmbiental).
Segnini believes that, with the opening of the plant, the process of laying asphalt will speed up.
The minister also highlighted investments by MOPT and CONAVI in mitigation and containment of dust in the province in the province, which maximize the resources with which they work.
“The asphalt plant is a project that is well-advanced. We want to take advantage of the resources we have – a kilometer of slow-degrading asphalt emulsion [a thin layer of asphalt] costs 40 million colones ($75,000), while it costs 800 million colones ($1.5 million) to asphalt it. That’s why we’re using it for dust containment,” explained Segnini.
In addition, Reynaldo Mata, CONAVI’s regional director for roadways and bridge conservation, pointed to work done on various routes in the short term.
“We’ve started with route 929 [towards Pozo de Agua], which began on Wednesday, November 4.There is a good chance the contract for 157 [Mansion-Nicoya] will be expanded to include more material. At the moment route 903 [in Nandayure] is being worked on and soon 150 [from the San Antonio cemetery to San Vicente] will be worked on, which was the subject of conversation today, [routes] 904 and 905,” said Mata.
In addition, Mata stated that route 920, which connects the communities of Ortega and Santa Barbara and is in fairly bad condition, has a higher amount assigned (more than ₡600 million, or $1.12 million).
The engineer also confirmed that work on route 160, between Nosara and Samara, which began in July of this year, will finish this December.
“There are 800 meters left to stabilize between the Santa Marta bridge and the Santa Marta crossing, and at this moment we are working on structuring the route with gravel and on slopes, because [asphalt] emulsion was lacking. The emulsion arrived; about 10,000 liters are lacking to be able to finish this stretch.”
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