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Looks like our ride to the airport will be a little quicker in the future!

Transport officials close toll booths to save gas
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The government is shutting down toll booths to eliminate congestion and to save motorists fuel. On the Autopista General Cañas that runs from San José to Juan Santamaría airport, toll booths will be closed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to1:30 p.m. Officials announced this Tuesday. The edict follows the publication of a decree in the official La Gaceta newspaper.

The Autopista Próspero Fernández between La Sabana and Escazú will have free passage from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Saturdays. The metro area's other major highways, which have less traffic will not be affected, transport officials said. Toll booths, when in operation, usually generate long lines even where motorists have the chance to pay automatically.

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Toll Booths Closed Daily To Avoid Congestion
Inside Costa Rica
Travelling through the toll booths of the autopistas General Cañas and the Próspero Fernández will be easier thanks to a new regulation that will suspend the charging of tolls during weekdays. The toll booths of the General Cañas will be closed between 7am and 7am weekdays, while the tool booths of the Próspero Fernández will be closed between 7a, amd 9:30am and 3pm and 8pm.

The suspension of the tolls is move traffic through the congested autopistas and not create additional bottlenecks, which has seen, at times, traffic backing up to the Cerveceria on the General Cañas and Hipermas on the Próspero. The toll booths on both autopistas will also be closed on Saturdays between 11am and 1:30pm. During all other times, the toll booths will operate normally charging ¢75 colones for passenger vehicles (¢100 on the voluntary lane).

The ministra de Obras Públicas y Transportes, Karla González, explained that a technical study indicated the need to suspend charges at the toll booths to allow for better traffic flow. According to the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) figues, the number of vehicles daily passing throuhg the tolls on the General Cañas is 23.000 and on the Próspero Fernández, 22.000.

The tolls on the Florencio del Castillo (route to Cartago), which moves some 20.000 vehicles daily and the Braulio Carrillo (route to Limón) and the Bernardo Soto (Naranjo toll station) will all continue to charge tolls on a 24 hour basis as usual.

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

Wow. There is intelligent life here or did China just buy them ?

I have always thought what a waste tolls are. They should just add to the gas price. Either way, people who drive pay.

Bet all those toll takers who skimmed off of those tolls are going to be bummed … probably used to be a high paying job…

Mendo

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"It takes a lot of good beer to make a great wine"

And the rest was funding the construction of the highway to Jaco.

I remember hearing the highway to Jaco was going to be finished very soon and this was on my first trip to CR in Sept. 2001

Many heard that on their first trip in 1988.

Seriously though the work has finally started to complete the project in the next 18 months. Work in very visible on the stretch between La Sabana and Santa Ana.

The difference this time is the government awarded a concession to a private firm to build the road and collect tolls over the next 25 years to recoup their costs and make a profit.

The good news? It will be completed

The bad news? It will be a toll road

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine