What Driving to San Ramón Could Cost You Each Month in New Tolls

If you drive Route 1 between San José and the Western Valley, the planned expansion to San Ramón will come with four toll stations. A round trip could cost you about ₡3,046 ($6.70). The first and largest station will sit at Los Arcos in Belén, across from the National Convention Center, with 18 lanes. Heading toward San Ramón, the others are planned at El Coyol with nine lanes, Grecia with six and the new Río Segundo radial with four. Smaller auxiliary stations are planned at the Castella interchange, Arcos Sur and the north and south accesses to Grecia. A fifth station at the exit to Calle La Argentina in Grecia is also being considered if it proves necessary. The price isn’t final. In February, Public Works and Transport Minister Efraím Zeledón estimated the toll at ₡1,523 ($3.35) in each direction. At that rate, someone commuting every weekday would pay ₡15,230 ($33) a week, or a little over ₡60,000 ($130) a month. That estimate was based on three toll stations, not four, so the figure could change. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) has not published an updated estimate. You won’t have to stop at a booth. The stations are designed for gateless tolling, which charges you electronically as you drive through, so traffic keeps moving at the busiest points of the corridor. That system can’t be switched on yet. Gateless tolling still needs new legal rules, and MOPT said in July it was preparing a bill to allow it. Route 27 would be the first highway to convert its existing stations. The National Insurance Institute (INS) has said the new digital windshield tag that comes with the 2027 marchamo could be used to pay at gateless tolls. That would let the same sticker that shows your vehicle is cleared to circulate also handle your toll payments. The company that wins the contract will design, build and equip the stations, along with a traffic control center and administrative offices at Los Arcos. The widening of the road to San Ramón is out to bid, and no date has been set to begin collecting tolls. For now, nothing changes for drivers on the route. The number of stations, the final rates and the start date have yet to be confirmed.