QCOSTARICA – Some things do not change. At least with respect to bridge building in Costa Rica, mostly due to the failure of transport authorities to complete infrastructure projects that well, allow people to move from one place to another.
One of those early failures is the bridge over the Toro Amarillo river, 10 km from Guapiles, a bridge that led to nowhere.
Following is the original text published by La Nación on August 25, 1971.
“This magnificent bridge, still standing despite the permanent onslaught of the river and the unprecedented neglect of the governments, is a true monument to the demagoguery that characterizes not this or that party that comes to power, but everyone.
Because here, our friends, on the Toro Amarillo River, 10 kilometers from Guápiles, in the canton of Pococí, there is an open book that points out, openly, how public affairs are handled in our country.
Since time immemorial, man has dreamed of a way to the Central Valley without having to take a long detour through Siquirres.
The grandparents already built the road to the place called Carrillo, but laziness has it semi-abandoned.
The Toro Amarillo River is a great obstacle when leaving Guápiles, so a government with the best intention in the world decided to take a fundamental step: to build a bridge to the Toro Amarillo.
The bridge was built, it cost more than a million* (colones) and a half and leads directly into the jungle.
So?
The bridge remained, leading nowhere.
* In 1983, US$1 = 43.10 colones (source: Banco Central).