Lessons learned on the passage of Category 5 Hurricane Maria over the island of Puerto Rico : road safety infrastructure perspective

The transportation infrastructure of the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico with a surface area of 9104 km², is responsible for the mobility and accessibility of people and goods with over 28,000 kilometers of paved roadways, were more than 93% of all trips are generated by private vehicles. On September 20, 2017, Puerto Rico was impacted by Hurricane Maria of Category 5, causing an unprecedented damage to the country's transportation infrastructure recorded in its history. The entire Island was without electric power and communication, and over 50,000 landslides and mudslides occurred, over 20 major bridges in the strategic highway network have structural failure or collapse due to flooding, scouring and other drainage related problems. Most of the guide and directional overhead signs in mayor freeways and urban areas collapsed, including break-away devices, creating hazardous condition to our motorists. The logistics associated with the transportation infrastructure that includes roads, bridges, ports, airports, suffered significant damage that affected the quality of life of all residents on the island with a major impact to the economic development of the country. The $94.3 US billion dollars budget has been estimated to restore the infrastructure to its original condition prior to the hurricane. This presentation will document the process in which the Government of Puerto Rico, its Department of Transportation and Public Works and related agencies addressed the road safety and transportation logistic during this extreme natural disaster, the resiliency/recovery process and lessons learned as a result of the passage of Category 5 Hurricane Maria by Puerto Rico. The road safety infrastructure perspective will be emphasized with recommendations to Islands with similar geographical characteristics such as Jeju Island