Quepos Bridge, Costa Rica

Quepos Bridge known as ‘The Bridge of Death’ and ‘Oh My God bridge’, this extremely narrow bridge is located on the road from Jaco to Quepos on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast. It’s one of the most spectacular bridges in the world.

Cars can travel only in one direction. It barely looks like it could hold a bicycle, let alone a 30 tons lorry. But trucks cross this deathtrap regularly. The bridge built with wood planks looks like it could crumble at any moment, but large trucks drive over it and people survive. The loose slats of the roadway clank loudly while the bridge shakes under the weight of all the vehicles. Quepos Bridge was built by the “Bananera Company” in the years 1930-40, and it was built for the train that move the bananas to the port of Quepos.

The Quepos Bridge in Costa Rica was a former railroad bridge. It became an important link in the Parrita area. It was scary, but not dangerous unless you expected the bridge to collapse while you were on it. However, in 2010, the bridge was replaced by a modern concrete span. The span itself is not that wide, perhaps a few hundred feet at most, but it does go over a fast-moving river that often floods. Before the old bridge could be demolished, the area suffered a flood around the end of 2010 that results in the old bridge collapse.