COSTA RICA NEWS – At 2:00pm the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) re-opened the Ruta 32 after 45 hours of being closed due landslides.
On Thursday, at 5:30pm, Transport officials closed off the section of the highway between San José and Guapiles due to a series of landslides, up to 40, at multiple points along the 35 km stretch of highway that weaves through the Braulio Carillo national park.
The director de la Policía de Tránsito, Mario Calderón, explained that engineers of the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (Conavi) said the road is in condition for use.
David Meléndez, director of emergencies at the MOPT, said the roadway has been cleaned of all debris, the work to clean the ditches will be on Sunday.
However, it is unknown how long the road can or will remain open. The MOPT says the road will be shut down again in event of heavy rain that could lead to more landslides.
Although the weather conditions were good throughout the day Saturday, the Instituto Metereológico Nacional (IMN) – national weather service – is calling for sustained heavy rains through the night in the mountains that include the Zurquí, the Central Valley, Zona Norte and Pacific coast.
Source: La Nacion; CRHoy
