QCOSTARICA – The Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales (LanammeUCR) – National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models (LanammeUCR), alerted about the state of the bridges located on the Ruta 27, between San José and Caldera.
The inspection revealed that 41 of the 43 structures are in a “fair” (32) or “deficient” (9) condition, while only one is in “acceptable” condition; while the bridge over the Salitral river, is described as in an “alarming” condition.
According to the report, “Moderate deficiencies in primary structural elements or significant deficiencies in secondary structural elements were observed, which may affect its structural or operational capacity, without currently compromising the stability of the bridge”.
The report is clear that no bridge has an imminent failure condition.
Julian Trejos, coordinator of the Lanamme bridge unit, added that they detailed that 19 of the 43 bridges evaluated did not have a previous inspection report, for which they recommended maintenance in most of the structures.
The evaluations included field visits, analysis and the issuance of reports on each of the bridges. The compendium was sent to the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR), the Legislative Assembly, the Ministry of the Presidency, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT), the National Highway Council (Conavi) and the Ombudsman’s Office, in addition to the National Council of concessions.
The recommendation to authorities is to attend to the bridges with a comprehensive strategy, not only prioritizing those with the worst conditions, to make the most of conservation tasks and reduce both costs and risks.
See the complete report here.
