Work on PR-181 begins with $12 million federal investment.

By THE STAR STAFF

Rehabilitation work has begun on highway PR-181 -- a route connecting hundreds of families and traveled daily by more than 30,000 residents, primarily from Trujillo Alto, Gurabo and San Lorenzo.

While serving as resident commissioner, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón allocated $3 million for the project for fiscal year 2023 as part of Community Projects -- funds directly allocated by members of Congress. As governor, she allocated the remaining $8.9 million, drawn from funds under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which González Colón helped craft while serving as a member of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. That allocation -- managed at the federal level by the Federal Highway Administration -- is administered locally by the Highways and Transportation Authority.

“This project, financed by $11,986,396 in federal funds that we secured, represents a valuable use of federal resources that will benefit the residents, workers, and students who rely on this highway,” the governor said at Sunday’s groundbreaking in Gurabo. “With this allocation, we no longer have to wait.”

The governor made the announcement alongside Florida U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Puerto Rico Secretary of State Rosachely Rivera Santana, who was the mayor of Gurabo when the reconstruction funds for the roadway were first requested, and other officials including current Gurabo Mayor Vimarie Peña Dávila.

Moody said the governor “is frequently in Washington, D.C., engaging in dialogue with us regarding how we can advance important projects that impact not only roads and transportation, but also the electrical grid and public safety.”

The reconstruction work will entail the milling of existing asphalt, repaving, thermoplastic pavement marking, installation of reflective pavement markers, construction of drainage ditches, installation of guardrails, erosion control measures, and preservation work on Bridge No. 2652 over the Gurabo River.