Gov’t says it will begin to repair traffic lights at Puerto Rico intersections

SAN JUAN – Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and the executive director of the Highways and Transportation Authority (HTA), Carlos Contreras, said Tuesday that after receiving $8.7 million from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) the traffic lights at 720 intersections affected by Hurricane María will be repaired.

The executive director of the ACT, engineer Carlos Contreras, indicated that the funds to complete the repairs at the 480 remaining intersections is expected soon. (Jaime Rivera / CB)

“Practically 100 percent of the traffic lights in Puerto Rico sustained damage after Hurricane María. The devices, installed at 1,200 intersections across the Island, play an important role in the safety and proper flow of traffic on our roadways, thus their repair has always been a priority for our Administration,” Rosselló said in a release.

He also mentioned that HTA personnel have been performing inspections, estimates, and channeling all the information to request the needed funds for repair from the federal agency.

“Thanks to that effort, today we can announce that the FHWA approved the funds for the repair of the first 720 intersections with traffic lights, and already the Highway Authority signed the contracts for these repairs, many of which are already being executed,” the governor added.

Puerto Rico Public Service Commission warns those operating without a permit

Contreras Aponte explained that “the process to evaluate the damage to the traffic lights has been more complex than usual due to the lack of electric power at the intersections. Even if visual inspections were done to determine if the traffic lights sustained damage…it was important to verify if their electrical and lighting system had also been affected.”

“Given this situation, we had to use electric generators at most of the 1,200 intersections to test the traffic lights and be able to make a correct assessment of the damage. Once this process was completed, we met with the directors of the Federal Highway Administration, both here and in Washington, D.C., and obtained approval of the funds to repair the first 720 intersections with traffic lights,” he added.

The official also said funds are expected to be approved shortly to repair the remaining 480 intersections.

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