Bridge Over Rio Montaña Has Foundation Problems

• Ostional is Semi-Isolated • Crossing Open Only to Motorcycles and Pedestrians

By Wilberth Villalobos Castrillo

The National Roadways Council (CONAVI) inspected the bridge over Rio Montaña after the 6.6 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, October 23rd and determined that it doesn’t have structural damage; however, failures were detected in the refill approaching the bridge. Mauricio Sojo, CONAVI engineer in the Nicoya area who inspected the bridge hours after the quake occurred, reported that “the structure in itself doesn’t have any problem, but the refills approaching the bridge are damaged as a result of the strong rains in the last few days as well as the quake.” According to Sojo, the bridge that connects the communities of Nosara and Ostional is a priority for CONAVI, and they are currently evaluating the costs and when they will be able to work on the structure. “We are analyzing the costs and the moment in which we will work on the structure, which could be next week,” he explained.   This bridge, which cost more than $1.5 million, was not officially finished by CONAVI, so in June this year, area residents decided to refill both accesses to the bridge with stone. Presently, the community of Ostional is semi-isolated since access from Nosara only permits motorcycles and pedestrians to cross and, to the north, the bridge over the Marbella river is damaged.         According to neighbor Rolf Liichtenstein, “unfortunately the new refill that CONAVI did yesterday (Tuesday) has washed out again with the tremor and the rain.” Liichtenstein said that only cars and motorcycles can cross the bridge, but big trucks and buses cannot.