A US$150.7 million bridge project for Puerto Rico will be handled by Ferrovial Construction. The new bridge construction work forms part of the $2.7 billion Rio Piedras/Puerto Nuevo Flood Risk Reduction Project.
The work involves replacing the existing Roosevelt Avenue Bridge with a new structure that will allow a better water flow and will not collect as much debris. The contract was awarded by the Task Force Puerto Rico Virgin Islands (TF-VIPR) of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Repairs and maintenance works are also being carried out as part of the programme.
The Río Puerto Nuevo Basin drains 62.16 square kilometres, 75% of which is highly developed with a population of 250,000 persons. Rapid upstream runoff, inadequate channel capacity, constriction at bridges, and elimination of the flood plain by urbanisation cause severe flooding to 7,500 residents, and 700 commercial and public structures valued at over $3 billion. The project includes nine segments that will be constructed through separate contracts between now and 2032.
When completed, the project will provide over $125 million average annual economic benefits and 100-year flood risk reduction to more than 250,000 area residents.
The Puerto Rico Highway 23 (PR-23) is also known as Franklin Delano Roosevelt Avenue. The road is a key route in in San Juan. The road connects the interchange of PR-2 and PR-165 near San Patricio in Guaynabo with the Milla de Oro area, the Plaza Las Américas and the Barbosa Avenue (PR-27) junction in Hato Rey.
