Search results for: 'costa rica'

The Pan-American Highway: from Alaska to Argentina

“We did it. We – the Vogel family from Boise, Idaho – did it. We did the impossible, and I couldn’t be happier that we did,” wrote Nancy Sathre-Vogel, in her family blog, when she and her family reached Ushuaia, in Argentina.Eight years ago, John and Nancy Vogel left their teaching jobs, took their twin boys out of school, bought two single bikes and a tandem and embarked on a journey to cycle the Pan-American Highway.The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads, extending from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. According to the Guinness World Records, the 48,000km highway, which runs through the North and South American continents, is the world’s longest ‘motorable road’.The highway comprises official and unofficial sections. The official section runs from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to Buenos Aires, Argentina, while the unofficial sections can be found to both the north and south of the official route.The route — including the official and unofficial sections — spreads across 14 countries: the USA, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina.However, if you are thinking in cycling or driving all the way down until Ushuaia without stopping — except to rest, sleep or eat — take that out of your mind.The route is interrupted by a 160km-wide break, named the Darién Gap, between Central and South America.The Pan-American Highway is for many the ultimate road trip and here — as part of the WCN’s Roads Week — we provide you with everything you need to know, so you can start, if you fancy the challenge, your ‘little’ adventure.

Tunnels Week on WCN: Tales from the underground

You might think that tunnels are always built by professionals, with an obvious and practical purpose — to transport people, to reach a deposit of coal or diamonds, to transport water, and so on. For some, however, digging a tunnel is a hobby, a distraction, an escape, a way of expanding their houses underground or even a way to exercise — we look at some of the tunnels built by ordinary people around the world. 1.    Elton Macdonald

Mott MacDonald to plan & design Costa Rica’s new international airport

Mott MacDonald has been chosen by the Centro American Corporation of Air Navigation Services (COCESNA) to lead a site study, design and masterplan for a new international airport in Costa Rica.The new metropolitan airport — to be located in Orotina, Alajuela — is part of the modernisation and growth of air transport in the country.The scope of the work, conducted by Mott MacDonald, involves technical, environmental and financial advisory and airport development planning — including traffic forecasting, infrastructure layout and terminal design. This is set to take 12 months, after which the consultancy firm will provide COCESNA with the infrastructure plans and associated financial requirements to develop the new airport. Mott MacDonald’s project director Horacio Rossi said: “The new airport will be a significant development for Costa Rica and support economic growth in the region. The additional capacity will enable an increase of international flights, benefitting both export and tourism.“Our experience consulting on Mariscal Sucre International Airport gave us specific expertise in developing new airports on Greenfield sites, as well as relocating a country’s main airport due to existing site expansion constraints. We are delighted to lead an integrated team on this project, which includes FSA, Enroute and Gensler.”The airport is expected to be complete in 2026.