by Rod Hughes

There are potholes and, then, there are potholes.

The difference between them is that some reach celebrity status, enough so that they make the pages of the leading daily La Nacion when they are finally filled—somewhat like a movie star undergoing surgery.

The huge, 17-meter-deep hole in Barrio Dent in the university suburb of San Pedro (in the Montes de Oca municipality) east of downtown San Jose began when a giant drain collapsed in October of 2005. Rainfall during two rainy seasons widened the yawning hole in the highway to 60 meters, reported La Nacion—that is more than 300 feet, if La Nacion has its measurements right. This, of course, did nasty things to the local traffic pattern.

Now, the bureaucracy in Costa Rica is abnormally slow, but this pothole would have been repaired much sooner had it not been for a disagreement that developed between the San Jose and Montes de Oca municipalities–in fact the Montes de Oca council blocked repair plans by the San Jose people until they received guarantees from San Jose that construction would be thorough so that the problem would not recur.

San Jose’s Municipality received their construction permits to fill the hole in mid-2006 but decided to wait until the dry season. Now, at the end of that season, the big drainpipes are installed and buried, ready for the final paving scheduled to be finished May 7.

No doubt the TV news people are planning a special report. Then, people may forget, although it may serve as an inspiration for all the ambitious little potholes in the nation’s roads…

This is not the only famous pothole in history. More than two decades ago, a giant one opened in a highway and month after month worsened while the local residents fruitlessly complained. When it filled with rainwater, some wag put up a sign that read, “Swimming Prohibited.” A La Nacion photographer caught the saga in a front page picture. Within a few days the Ministry of Public Works was hard at it with repair crews.