From InsideCostaRica & LaNacion
Click for some photos of the progress of the road to/from Quepos/Dominical, Costa Rica.
After 47 years of planning the Costanera 
Sur will be ready by December 2009 according to the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) declared last week.
The Costanera Sur connects the communities Central Pacific communities to the Southern Zone and once completely finished will save drivers up to two hours, the time it takes now to make the 42 kilometer (26 miles) trip between Quepos and Dominical.
The Costanera Sur also eliminates the need to cross the Cerro de la Muerte to get to Pérez Zeledón, offering an alternative from Puntarenas and Guanacaste without having to pass through San José.
At this time only 20 of the 42 kilometres have been paved with the first layer of asphalt, with the work continuing daily. Given the weather this time of year, it will be a challenge to get everything done on time. However, the work that has been done to-date is measurable.
In addition work continues on the important bridges from Parrita to Dominical. In the coming weeks it is expected that the contractor will begin pouring the concrete slab of the new Parrita bridge, which once completed, will be a two lane wide bridge that will eliminate traffic congestion, that at peak hours can add an hour or more to the trip, replacing the current one lane bridge that saw its better days decades ago.
The Costanera Sur is a project that began as an idea back in 1942 by the Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE). However, the recommendation to begin construction of the project did not occur until 1962. In 1979 the administration of Rodrigo Carazo received financing for the project, however, the money was all spent on appeals and "improper" payments.
In 1982 the government of Luis Alberto Monge signs a contract with the Spanish constructor, Agroman and the building of the Costanera is on its way. However, in 1987 the Contraloría (Comptroller's office) found irregularities with the contract whose cost went from ¢445 million colones to ¢1.8 billion, of that time, creating a scandal of proportions which forced the then ministro de Transportes, Guillermo Constenla, to rescind the Agroman contract.
In 1997 the Belén construction company was awarded the contract for part of the project, but bad weather and lack of financing setback the project.
In 2004 the cost of each kilometre of road for the remaining 42 kilometres that connects Quepos to Dominical was estimated to cost us$1 million dollars and as such the project comes to a complete halt.
It wasn't until earlier this year (2009) that the MOPT gave the order to complete the highway that included widening eight of the bridges, all financed by the BCIE.
Once complete, the 222 kilometre road runs from Barranca de Puntarenas to Palmar Sur in the Osa Peninsula, providing a direct route to Panama without having to go through San José.