Southern development commission grills Autoridad de Carreteras over PR‑10 cost jump, timelines and local safety issues

The Comisión de Desarrollo del Sur convened April 17 to review progress and costs on a package of southern highway projects, focusing on the unfinished sections of PR‑10, the near‑complete PR‑9 segments and stabilization works on PR‑52. Committee members pressed Autoridad de Carreteras officials for per‑project cost details after officials reported a large increase in the PR‑10 estimate and described the environmental and procurement steps that remain.

Chair (name not given) opened the hearing and said the commission had received two key communications from the Autoridad de Carreteras: one in June 2021 that aggregated the remaining PR‑10 tranches at about $252.5 million and a later memorandum (June 14, 2023) reporting an overall upward revision to roughly $540 million. The chair noted the difference and asked the authority to explain the change, asking explicitly for a per‑project breakdown within five business days.

The chair cited specific figures and asked officials to justify them before the full chamber, saying, “Setenta y un millón de dólares por kilómetro. Setenta y un millón de dólares por kilómetro.” He later summarized the scale of the change: “aumento de doscientos ochenta y ocho millones adicional… un aumento de un ciento diez por ciento.” These figures framed the committee’s request for documentation.

Authority staff outlined the procurement and environmental schedule for PR‑10. Luis Pérez, identified as an ayudante del director ejecutivo, said the RFP process was in an advanced stage: final proposals were anticipated in mid‑May, proposal openings in mid‑May, a possible clarification/offer‑review step in June and a projected notification to proposers on July 12, 2024. Pérez said that, subject to environmental approvals, construction could begin late in 2024 and that their internal estimate for the full project approach was “cerca de seiscientos millones de dólares.”

Officials said the cost increases reflected multiple factors: inflation in construction inputs, changes in bridge and earth‑work specifications, and the decision to evaluate all tranches together rather than as isolated contracts. Authority representatives also said an environmental re‑evaluation tied to CDBG (federal) funding required additional review, and that comments on the environmental document were closing.

The commission pressed for transparency and granularity. The chair demanded that the Autoridad provide, within five business days, an itemized analysis showing how each of the four coded tranches (e.g., AC100069, AC100771, AC100555, AC100776) contributed to the revised total; proposer names and the timeline of selection; and the latest environmental determinations. Authority staff agreed to deliver the requested documentation.

On PR‑9, district director Heriberto (identified in the record) reported that two PR‑9 segments had advanced substantially — one reported at roughly 95% and another at about 40% — and that the authority was exploring partial openings (for example to Jardines del Caribe) while negotiating remaining contract items. Officials explained that earthquake‑related discoveries (including damaged pilasters and slope instability) required geotechnical remediation — trenches, reinforcement grouting and terracing — and that those works slow the schedule but are designed to stabilize slopes before final paving.

For PR‑52 (deslizamientos at Calle Ya Salinas, km 49 in Salinas), authority staff said the contract (coded AC‑801652) is with Las Piedras Construction and reported a revised contract value of $19,080,425.96, with roughly half the work certified and a projected completion window that could reach summer 2024 if conditions and weather allow.

Committee members also raised safety and lighting concerns. The chair described multiple ramps and interchanges (including the area known as “las letras de Ponce” and Glenview) that have luminaires installed but unenergized since Hurricane María. Authority representatives said some sections are the concessionaire’s (Metropistas) or the distributor’s (LUMA) responsibility once a project is delivered and energized; they also said Metropistas has been asked to evaluate quick fixes such as solar lamps for temporary illumination. The chair additionally asked the authority to request Metropistas to restore or replace a damaged cyclone fence near the Sabaneta community — the fence sits near a middle school and was reported as a safety hazard.

What happens next: the Autoridad de Carreteras committed to supply the commission with the requested per‑project cost breakdown, proposer names and environmental documentation within five business days; the authority reiterated the procurement calendar that anticipates notifying proposers on July 12, 2024. The commission will use that material in a future report to the pleno (full chamber).