I am typically on board in a hurry if someone offers to drive. So when my friend John announced that he wanted to give his 1993 convertible Le Baron a run to Jaco to experience the new freeway, I agreed.

The 30 year in-the-works super road inaugurated late last week and since John’s wonderful idea materialized like a mushroom cloud on Saturday, Sunday it was. In my mind, I thought that since it was the last day of the weekend, the first weekend of the new freeway, and the last day of school vacation, the roads would be packed.

That’s ok, with a new freeway ahead of us and four lanes to handle the traffic, it would be a true test for a road that was promised to cut the drive time from the Central Valley in half and to bring “a new era” (as reported in a local English language publication) to Costa Rica.

The existing path from Heredia to Escazu at 7:30 am Sunday morning was a dream. Then, like a bucket of water to wake us from pleasant deep sleep, we were soaked with the reality of Costa Rica.

But with coffee in hand and dreams of the ocean ahead, we were too content to realize that the rare 15 minute jaunt through the valley to Santa Ana would be the only enjoyable part of the drive.

The line of loud mufflers, minivans, and egg beaters started when we were squeezed back to two lanes (one each way) about a mile from the first toll booth near Cuidad Colón. Fine, it’s a busy weekend, just wait until we get through the toll and the wide open blacktop will force us to take off our hats and enjoy what the Le Baron was designed to do.

However, the sad reality of the next 24 miles to Orotina is that only about 1 mile of the road is four lanes, about 6 miles is three lanes (two lanes going up the hills), and the remaining 14 miles is two lanes (again, one each way).

Needless to say, the line at the beginning of the road didn’t let up until the end.

Why so few lanes? One reason is because it’s hard to cut though mountains and slice away mountainsides with enough space to create 4 lanes. This is a small country with very steep, dense, mountain ranges. Along the way, it was evident that large machinery was exhausted while scraping away immense walls of stone to create a path.

So, why didn’t they scrape a little more? Maybe it was impossible in some areas, too time consuming, too costly, the reasons are there, some are valid. The other reason for an unavoidable two lane road is the bridges.

As we know, the 14 bridges were built some time back and again, that is no easy task when considering the steep canyons that need to be crossed. Therefore, each bridge consists of one lane each way.

In order to prepare drivers for the bridges, two lanes must be reduced to one at least a half mile before each bridge. A road with numerous two lane bridges means that what we essentially have is a two lane road.

The extra lanes scattered scarcely throughout the 30 year project allow drivers with fast cars and the need for speed to pass a handful of slower drivers and get back in line for the next bridge.

This routine entertained us for one and a half hours as we traversed the 24 miles of bottlenecks at a breezy, typical Costa Rican pace of less than 5 miles per hour. It took us three hours to get to Jaco and two and a half to get back. The entire trip to Jaco is 130 miles to and from John’s house near the mall in Heredia (Five and a half hours driving, 3 hours at the beach)

The road is nice, drainage for the rain looks wonderful, I guess the 1,500 colones through 4 tolls is justifiable (another 1,500 to get back), and when the Le Barron started to overheat, there was a shoulder for us to park safely. All very positive.

Will it save time? Like every narrow mountain road in this country, if you time your trip before most of the population is awake or after they have lain their heads to dream of more new eras, you time will be cut in half.

Otherwise we have the same ole’ problem of unavoidable, slow moving traffic (which is not exclusive to Costa Rica), too many people for a road not designed to handle the future’s, let alone today’s, demand.

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.