This month Happy Trails talks about recent developments with the biggest “trail” in town.
In Nosara the horrible condition of Route 160 is a perennial topic of conversation. In 2014 a group of people formed the Comité de Caminos y Asfaltado de la Ruta 160 in attempt to do something about it, namely to repair the road and ultimately to get it paved.
Three entities are involved in accomplishing that goal: The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT), the Municipality of Nicoya, and the development associations of Nosara, Santa Teresa, Santa Marta, Esperanza and Garza.
“Did you know that paving the road from Sámara to Nosara is part of a Master Plan to pave the entire coastal highway? Our part of the road could serve as a model for the rest of the route,” said committee member Gerardo Brenes, adding that, “the Municipality can help us greatly by advocating for the project with the central government.”
The committee brought about repairs to the road twice in 2014 with private contributions, especially from local businesses. “We fixed the road from Nosara to Guiones, but after the second time we decided to concentrate our efforts on getting the road paved. We need to pave at total of 29 kilometers. We still don’t have a detailed budget, but it will certainly cost upwards of $70 million.”
The committee meets every month at the Kitson Library and also meets here and in San Jose with the Minister of Transportation and with engineers from both MOPT and Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (CONAVI).
The project is formal one, with many steps. At present there is a road design, a notional budget, and 307 plans for the right of way from Samara to Esperanza, all of which require concessions or expropriation from the landowners. More steps will follow: A contract to be let for another 120 plans from Esperanza to Santa Marta, an environmental impact study, and a design for relocation of public services.
In 2017 the committee expects to continue resolving right of way issues. Brenes meetings are scheduled with MOPT and CONAVI at the beginning of February in Esperanza. In addition, the committee will solicit donations of right of way from all property owners. In the great majority of cases, the concessions requested are quite small, 100 meters or less. Some, however, involve more land, especially where a bridge or hill is involved.
“People are generous. They want the road paved!” Of the 30 property owners already consulted by the committee, 15 have said they will donate their land. One large landowner in Garza has donated thousands of meters.
“In Costa Rica we say we’re working like ants: silently and constantly, but in the end accomplishing great things,” Brenes concluded.
For more information, see the Facebook page Ruta 160 Nosara.