Puerto Rico Highway 172 is a secondary highway that connects Caguas, Puerto Rico at PR-1 to downtown Cidra, Puerto Rico and continues its way to its end at Puerto Rico Road 156 in Comerio, Puerto Rico. It is a two-lane per direction road from Caguas to its border point to Cidra and rural all the way to Comerío.
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Map of PR-172, Puerto Rico
Dangerous highway
Puerto Rico Highway 172 has about 4 kilometers going uphill. One side of the road is extremely close to the blasted mountain (See Blasting), meaning that landslides would fall in the right lane of the direction close to it; the other side is near a precipice, with barriers that are not safe. The two directions are not divided, and cars can easily collide front-to-front. Several people have died in this highway, including cars which have been collided by heavy-weight trucks that come so fast downhill their brakes malfunction or don't have to time to stop. The most recent death occurred August 16, 2014. Only one emergency ramp has been built to provide safety in the down part of the mountain.
Rural road in Cidra
Similar to other highways in Puerto Rico which become rural after entering another town from the town of origin, PR-172 becomes rural and enters downtown Cidra before continuing to its end at PR-156 in Comerío. It is mainly flat, and there are no precipices found in the rest of the highway.