National Route 126 (Costa Rica)

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National Secondary Route 126 shield}}
National Secondary Route 126
Ruta nacional secundaria 126
Catarata-de-la-paz-Varablanca.JPG
La Paz waterfall is an scenic spot along Route 126.
Route information
Maintained by Ministry of Public Works and Transport
Length73.505 km (45.674 mi)
Major junctions
South end Route 3
Major intersections Route 119
Route 128
Route 114
Route 127
Route 125
Route 120
Route 140
North end Route 4
Location
ProvincesAlajuela, Heredia
Highway system
← Route 125→ Route 127

National Secondary Route 126, or just Route 126 (Spanish: Ruta Nacional Secundaria 126, or Ruta 126) is a National Road Route of Costa Rica, located in the Alajuela, Heredia provinces.[1] It connects Route 3 and Route 4.

Description[]

Starting at the downtown area of Heredia canton, at Route 3, this road goes through Heredia, Barva, Carrizal, and Varablanca slightly following the province limit between Heredia and Alajuela, until arriving to Route 4 at Bajos de Chilamate in Sarapiquí.

It allows access to the Poás Volcano National Park when driving from Heredia, by turning at Route 120.

In the southern area of the route, near Barva canton, there are many coffee plantations, and further north in Varablanca there are strawberry orchards.

Making use of the eastern lowlands segment of Route 32 and Route 4, this route connects the Greater Metropolitan Area to the Caribbean districts, which is a recommended alternate route in case of emergency when there are landslides in the Braulio Carrillo national park section of Route 32.[2]

In Alajuela province the route covers Alajuela canton (Carrizal, San Isidro, Sarapiquí districts).

In Heredia province the route covers Heredia canton (Heredia, Mercedes, Varablanca districts), Barva canton (Barva, San Pedro, San Pablo districts), Santa Bárbara canton (Jesús, Santo Domingo, Purabá districts), Sarapiquí canton (La Virgen district).

Locations[]

Administrative regions covered by this route and their junctions at the district level.

Province Canton District km mi Destinations Notes
Alajuela Alajuela Carrizal Route 125
San Isidro
Sarapiquí Route 140
Heredia Heredia Heredia Route 3
Mercedes
Varablanca Route 120
Barva Barva Route 119
Route 128
San Pedro
San Pablo Route 114
Santa Bárbara Jesús Route 114
Santo Domingo
Purabá Route 127
Sarapiquí La Virgen Route 4

History[]

Old wood bridge near La Paz waterfall, circa 1990

An historic route in the country, an approximate route was used to export goods to Europe by the Spanish colonials.[3]

Was partially destroyed by the 2009 Cinchona earthquake, reconstruction took five years and was concluded on 2014.[4]

Among the major construction works in the route, the bridge over Quebrada Seca (Seca creek) was rebuilt from one to four lanes and new sidewalks, finishing in January 2014.[5]

La Paz waterfall bridges[]

The scenic spot to overlook La Paz waterfall, on the La Paz Grande river, is served by a bridge that has been destroyed two times, in 2003 the 65 years old original wood bridge fell due to heavy machinery transportation, a Bailey bridge was installed, which due to a torrential storm, was destroyed by the river in 2013. A new Bailey bridge was again installed, a meter higher than before, opened on September 2013.[6][7]

References[]

  1. ^ "GeoPortal". Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transporte de Costa Rica. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. ^ Ugarte, Joselyne (15 July 2018). "Ruta 32 permanecerá cerrada 2 o 3 días más". Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Una ruta vital para Cinchona". 23 November 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  4. ^ Fernández, Tatiana (22 March 2014). "Carretera revive desarrollo económico en Cinchona". Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  5. ^ Recio, Patricia (17 January 2014). "Finaliza construcción de puente en Barva de Heredia". Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  6. ^ INFORME DE EVALUACIÓN LM-PI-UGERVN-11-2013 RUTA NACIONAL N°126 PUENTE CATARATA LA PAZ (PDF)
  7. ^ Cascante, Sharon (28 September 2013). "Abrirían puente sobre Catarata de la Paz". Retrieved 16 September 2019.
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