Skip to main content

Puerto Rico road revamp

Work is starting on the Dos Hermanos Bridge that links Old San Juan to other sections of the city in Puerto Rico.
April 24, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Work is starting on the Dos Hermanos Bridge that links Old San Juan to other sections of the city in Puerto Rico. The project was inaugurated by Federal Highway administrator Victor Mendez and other officials including Puerto Rico governor Luis Fortuño. Mendez also announced a US$10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant for the Caparra Interchange Reconstruction Project in Guaynabo. The project will rehabilitate one of the most heavily used interchanges in Puerto Rico and make significant improvements to road and pedestrian infrastructure. "There are steps we can take right now to put people back to work," US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. "One of these steps is getting job-creating projects funded and under way more quickly, which is exactly what we're doing right here, right now, with our TIGER programme." The Dos Hermanos Bridge connects the sectors of Condado, Miramar, and the Old San Juan historic district and carries 10,000 vehicles/day. "This is a perfect example of why we need to put federal dollars to work to improve infrastructure and create jobs now," Mendez said. "Roads and bridges are the backbone of a healthy economy, and when they are neglected, our economy suffers as well." The previous bridge was damaged due to the harsh marine environment that corroded the steel. The new bridge was developed with concrete that is designed to withstand San Juan's marine conditions. The new bridge includes wide sidewalks with pedestrian railings and a new bicycle lane to improve safety. At $44.7 million, including $38.3 million in federal highway dollars, the Dos Hermanos Bridge is the largest current federal-aid highway project in Puerto Rico. The Caparra Interchange Reconstruction Project in Guaynabo is one of 46 transportation projects in 33 states and Puerto Rico that received a total of $511 million from the third round of the 2364 US Department of Transportation's TIGER programme.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • US89 in Arizona to receive emergency repairs
    May 9, 2013
    Funding for emergency repairs to the US89 route in Arizona is being provided by the US Government. The current US Transportation secretary Ray LaHood announced that US$35 million grant will tackle damage to US Highway 89 in Northern Arizona, which has been closed since its collapse due to a landslide in February 2013. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will use the funds to build a temporary detour on Navajo Route 20 (N20), and continue assessments and emergency repairs, as well as to evaluate
  • Latin America invests in infrastructure growth
    February 15, 2012
    Travelling in one of the world's most diverse regions is not always easy, but spectacular engineering feats will make life easier as Patrick Smith reports. Five years ago a report from the World Bank noted that infrastructure in most of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) had improved over the previous ten years.
  • Almost gone: Canada’s old Port Mann Bridge deconstructed
    August 14, 2015
    Three years ago a welder’s cut halved Canada’s old Port Mann Bridge. David Arminas reports from the banks of the Fraser River. By the time this issue of World Highways reaches you, one of Canada’s iconic steel arch bridges will be a shadow of its former self. It’s been a three-year demolition job since the first cut across the deck of the old Port Mann Bridge just outside the city of Vancouver on Canada’s Pacific coast. A new 10-lane 2.2km Port Mann Bridge opened in 2012 (see box). It runs parallel to the o
  • Road maintenance crisis hits UK and US, as experts gather in Paris
    January 9, 2015
    The road maintenance crisis in the United Kingdom and the United States is deepening amid estimates that it will take millions of dollars to stop highway infrastructure from crumbling, including falling prey to potholes. A recent report by the BBC in the UK said that at least one municipal council, the city of Leeds, is facing a bill of nearly US$153 million to patch up its potholed roads. In the United States, Senator Bernie Sanders is t