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Editorial: MOPT’s denial

Broadcast United News Desk
Editorial: MOPT’s denial

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The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) may choose to publish Crumbling A section of the shoulder of the lane, which was inaugurated just four months ago, connects the Alajuela Radial exit to the Bernardo Soto Expressway, heading to San Ramon or reject Less than two hours later, he posted the news on his official Facebook account. In any case, their incompetence was exposed.

If you choose the account in our first publication, you acknowledge the poor execution of the work and the irresponsible management of public resources invested in road construction. In just four months, a lane built on one of the country’s main highways was made impassable by a landslide that, according to forecasts, would not have serious consequences.

If you decide to issue a denial with the word “false” and have it falsely printed on the report, you will be forced to explain why you built the lane only to destroy it four months later in order to add a gabion wall. According to the Ministry of Civil Engineering, the landslide was caused by the machinery used to build the wall and not by poor workmanship.

So far, this is Official version. The lane required gabion walls capable of preventing accidental sliding, which is why MOPT caused it on purpose. This explanation is absurd not only to the average observer, but above all under the scrutiny of experts. José Manuel Sáenz Scaglietti, a civil engineer specializing in pavements and materials, believes that the cracks were formed naturally and not the result of the construction of a wall.

Saenz Scaglietti, president of the infrastructure committee of the Costa Rican Construction Chamber, said the landslide was caused by proximity to a steep-slope landfill. Then, truck traffic near the edge created dozens of meters of cracks in the asphalt as material fell off.

This explanation is very logical and others agree. The authorities concernedbut the MOPT cannot adopt it without labelling its denial as ‘wrong.’ It is also logical to think that the need for the wall should have been noted before the road was built, but we are talking about the same department that caused the collapse of the Ledezma Bridge and then built a makeshift crossing while the city was paralyzed.

In fact, this denial is the product of a policy adopted by the Ministry of Transport in recent months, which insists that all negative information is false and affirms that management cannot resist the benefits of any analysis. This is a concern for image and communication, not for effectiveness.

The repetition of MOPT’s “truth” has struck a chord with some, best exemplified by the celebration of the alleged denial by the Facebook publication itself by one citizen, who called it “an excellent clarification… to get the tabloid media to stop gossiping.” “What a sin!” grandmothers will exclaim.

Engineer Sáenz Scaglietti observed, seemingly without understanding publicity management: “The simplest thing is to admit that they noticed a failure and are correcting it. Is it that complicated to admit that?” It is not complicated, but it is impossible in the logic of the image as the highest value.

On the contrary, according to the engineers’ logic, “you build the wall first, and not destroy the already built lanes. From a technical point of view, before building the road the slope should be studied, the loads it will bear should be analyzed, and everything should be stabilized.” How can we refute it without the rhetorical creativity of MOPT and the credulity of some citizens?

Detail of the separation of the acceleration lanes on Highway 1, where drivers arriving from the Alajuela Radial will arrive. Photo by Francisco Barrantes Campos
The collapse of the shoulder on the lane connecting the Alajuela radial exit to the Bernardo Soto Expressway suggests that concerns about image and communication outweigh concerns about effectiveness. Photo by Francisco Barrantes Campos

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