The 48 hour deadline is quickly approaching, as officials of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) anxiously await the report by Autopistas del Sol, the concessionaire of the San José - Caldera highway, on its plan of action to make the road safe.Although the MOPT issued a 48 hour ultimatum this week, it is more likely that no report or decision or action will be for at least a week, as Autopistas prepares its report.
The highway and the concessionaire which opened on January 27, 2010, has been under heavy fire for problems with falling rocks and mudslides, primarily on the section of the road between Orotina and Atenas.
The week earlier a woman died while being a passenger of a motorcycle that ran into a gigantic rock that came loos from the rock wall and landed on the highway, in the middle of the night, in an area with no illumination.
Dozens of other drivers have filed claims against Autopista and the MOPT for damages to their vehicles, and more have complained that the road is unsafe.
A Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y de Arquitectos report indicates that the road is unsafe in at least 15 points along its route.
The MOPT has threatened to shut down the highway completely is Autopistas does not provide a plan of action satisfying all the concerns.
