Length 82.08 km | Constructed 1999 | |
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PR-22 (also part of unsigned Interstate PR2) is a 51-mile (83-km) long toll road in the north coast of Puerto Rico that connects the cities of San Juan and Hatillo. The road is also known as the José de Diego Expressway (Spanish: Expreso De Diego), and is part of unsigned Interstate PR-2. It is a 4-lane road for much of its length, but expands to up to 12 lanes in the San Juan metro area. The road is frequently congested, in particular during rush hour due to heavy commuter traffic.
Contents
Map of PR-22, Puerto Rico
The road is part of the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
Route description
PR-22 is Puerto Rico's most traveled highway. PR-22 runs parallel to PR-2 and is concurrent with unsigned Interstate Highway PRI-2. Unlike PR-22, PR-2 is not a controlled-access road, and has numerous traffic signals throughout the full run of its course. The construction of highway PR-22 reduced congestion on PR-2. The eastern terminus is at PR-26 (a non-tolled freeway) in Santurce, and passes through the Minillas Tunnel before its terminus at PR-26. The freeway bypasses all of the cities PR-2 passes through (see below under "Course of the Expressway"). PR-22's western terminus is at PR-2 in Hatillo. From there, PR-2 and Interstate PRI-2 continues to Aguadilla and Mayagüez, ending in Ponce.
History
Construction of this road began in 1969. The section from San Juan to Toa Baja opened in 1969 and in 1997 to Arecibo.
Future
PR-22 is planned to be extended to Aguadilla. The extension will be built as part of a public–private partnership, who will maintain and operate PR-22 for the next 40 years.
Privatization
The Autopistas Metropolitanas de Puerto Rico consortium, comprised by Abertis Infraestructuras and Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners II LP, placed the winning bid for the 40-year PR-22 and PR-5 highway concession. The highways generate between $90 million and $95 million annually in toll revenue, which will now go to the private operators.
Toll plazas
PR-22 is maintained by a system of tolls managed by the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works. All of its toll plazas have express lanes. There are eastbound tolls in Hatillo, Vega Alta, and Guaynabo. Westbound tolls are found in Toa Baja and Manatí. The Arecibo toll plaza collects tolls in both directions. All toll plazas have restroom facilities; the Vega Alta toll plaza also has an ATM.
PR-22 has seven toll plazas (three eastbound, two westbound, one two-way, and one ramp).
Originally, PR-22 had only five toll plazas (Hatillo, Vega Alta, Toa Baja, Fort Buchanan, and the Factor ramp); the Arecibo and Manatí toll plazas were added in the early 1990s.
The future segment from Aguadilla to Hatillo is expected to have four additional toll plazas; however, it remains to be seen whether they will be one way or two way.
As of 2014 - 2015, plans are underway to implement Open road tolling (ORT) and currently on many stretches of PR-22; Cash is no longer accepted to pay tolls with the exception of replenishing the toll tag.