Puerto Rico Highway 22
 PR-22 enters the city of San Juan. The San Juan skyline is visible in the background.  PR-22 begins in San Juan through Minillas Tunnel. |
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PR-22 (also part of unsigned Interstate PR2) is a 51-mile[1] (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.
The road is part of the U.S. Interstate Highway System.[2]
Route description
PR-22 is Puerto Rico's most traveled highway.[3] 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.[4]
Future
PR-22 is planned to be extended to Aguadilla.[5] 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.[6]
Exit list
| Municipality | Location | km | mi | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan | 0 | 0 |   PRI-3 / PR-26 – San Juan, Carolina | East end of Interstate PR2 and PR-22. Splits into PR-26 and Interstate PR3. | ||
| 0 |   PR-35 / PR-25 – San Juan | Exits are signed as Exit 0A, Exit 0B, but Exit 0C in the tunnel are unsigned. This exits are only accessible in Eastbound direction. | ||||
| 1 |  PR-1 – San Juan | Exits Signed 1A and 1B. | ||||
| 2 |   PRI-1 / PR-18 – San Juan, Caguas | 2A exits to PR-18, and 2B exits to Plaza Las Americas. | ||||
| 5 |  PR-2 / Avenida José De Diego – San Juan, Guaynabo | The PR-2 Northbound is accessible from PR-22 Westbound, and PR-2 Southbound is accessible from Exit 6. | ||||
| Guaynabo | 6 | PR-2 – Guaynabo, San Juan | In Westbound direction there are a exit (Exit 5) to PR-2 Northbound after Exit 2B. | |||
| 7 |  PR-165 – Guaynabo, Cataño | Exits Signed 7A and 7B | ||||
| Bayamon | 9 |  PR-5 – Bayamon, Cataño | ||||
| 10 | PR-5 – Bayamon | Only Westbound direction. This is a new version of (freeway version) of original access exit (Exit 9). | ||||
| 11 |  PR-869 – Palmas | |||||
| 13 |  PR-167 – Bayamon, Naranjito, Comerio | |||||
| Toa Baja | 16 |  PR-866 – Sabana Seca | ||||
| 17 |  PR-865 / PR-866 – Campanillas, Candelaria | |||||
| 22 | PR-165 – Dorado, Toa Baja, Toa Alta, Corozal | Westbound exits are signed as 22A (north) and 22B (south) | ||||
| Dorado | 24 |   PR-693 / PR-659 – Dorado, Toa Alta | ||||
| Vega Alta | 27 |   PR-694 / PR-695 – Maguayo, Higuillar | ||||
| 31 |  PR-690 (Cerro Gordo) | Westbound exit and Eastbound entrance | ||||
| 32 |  PR-2 – Vega Alta, Vega Baja | |||||
| Vega Baja | 35 |  PR-160 (Almirante Norte) | ||||
| 38 | Vega Baja, Avenida Trio Vegabajeno | Westbound exit and Eastbound entrance | ||||
| 42 |  PR-137 – Morovis, Vega Baja | |||||
| Manati | 46 |  PR-686 – Manati, Tierras Nuevas | ||||
| 48 |  PR-149 – Manati Centro, Ciales | |||||
| Barceloneta | 55 |  PR-140 – Barceloneta | ||||
| 57 | PR-140 – Florida, Farmaceuticas | |||||
| Arecibo | 64 |  PR-2 / PR-683 – Garrochales, Factor | Toll with no electronic toll collection on westbound on-ramp | |||
| 71 |  PR-638 – Domingo Ruiz, Bajadero | |||||
| 75 |  PR-10 – Arecibo, Utuado, Adjuntas | Signed as exits 75A (north) and 75B (south) | ||||
| 77 |  PR-129 – Arecibo, Lares, San Sebastian | Signed as exits 77A (north) and 77B (south) | ||||
| Hatillo | 84 |  PRI-2 / PR-2 – Hatillo, Arecibo, Mayaguez | West end of PR-22. Splits into PR-2; Interstate PR2 continues westbound via PR-2 as an At-grade traffic light expressway. | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
Toll plazas
PR-22 is maintained by a system of tolls managed by the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works.[7] 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).
| Location | Toll | Direction | AutoExpreso acceptance |
AutoExpreso replenishment (R) lane |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hatillo | $1.20 | Eastbound |  |
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| Arecibo / Factor | $0.60 | Westbound (ramp) | |
 |
Only ramp toll plaza on PR-22 |
| Arecibo | $0.90 | Two-way | |
|
Only two-way toll plaza on PR-22 Features unique roof design |
| Manatí | $1.70 | Westbound | |
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Features unique roof design |
| Vega Alta | $1.20 | Eastbound | |
|
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| Toa Baja | $1.20 | Westbound | |
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| Guaynabo / Fort Buchanan | $1.20 | Eastbound | |
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Toll plaza with the most lanes in Puerto Rico |
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,[8] 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.
References
- 1 2 Guía de Carreteras Principales, Expresos y Autopistas. (In Spanish) Puerto Rico Autoridad de Carreteras y Transportacion (ACT).
- ↑ U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Additional Designations. Retrieved on February 20, 2008.
- ↑ Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority. Presentation by Rubén Hernández Gregorat, Executive Director, PRHTA. February 26, 2010. At the Puerto Rico Credit Conference 2010. February 23-24, 2010.
- ↑ Legends of Puerto Rico.
- ↑ Goldman Sachs, Abertis close on 40 year $1,136m concession of Puerto Rico's PR22 & PR5 tollroads
- ↑ Abertis-Goldman Sachs group wins highways deal with $1.08 billion bid
- ↑ Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works
- ↑ DTOP
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