Puerto Rico Highway 12

Puerto Rico Highway 12 (PR-12), also called Avenida Malecón,^[3] and Avenida Santiago de los Caballeros, is a 6.4-kilometer,^[4] limited-access highway entirely located within the city limits of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and connecting Puerto Rico Highway 14 to the La Guancha area in Barrio Playa in Ponce.^[5] It is similar to a freeway but has one traffic light near its intersection with PR-14. In addition to its northern and southern terminus, the highway has four full interchange exits: PR-52, PR-2, PR-133/Calle Comercio, and Avenida Las Américas. Since PR-12's southern terminus is at the Port of Ponce, its traffic volume is expected to grow as construction in the new Port of the Americas is completed.^[6]

Highway 12
Ruta 12
Avenida Santiago de los Caballeros
Route information
Maintained by Puerto Rico DTPW
Length	6.4 km[1] (4.0 mi)
Existed	1960[2][note 1]–present
Major junctions
South end	Port of Ponce in Playa
Major intersections	PR-123 in Playa Avenida Caribe in Playa PR-52 in Playa Avenida Rafael Cordero Santiago in Playa PR-2 in San Antón PR-163 in San Antón PR-133 in San Antón PR-1 in San Antón
North end	PR-14 in Machuelo Abajo
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Puerto Rico
Municipalities	Ponce
Highway system
Roads in Puerto Rico List
← PR-10 → PR-14

Route description

With a length of about 6.4 kilometers (4.0 mi), PR-12 begins at PR-14 (Avenida Tito Castro) intersection in Barrio Machuelo Abajo. PR-12 also intersects with Calle Obispado in Machuelo Abajo. Then, PR-12 enters Barrio San Antón, where meets with PR-1 (Boulevard Miguel Pou), PR-133 (Calle Comercio) and PR-163 (Avenida Las Américas) interchanges, and crosses the Río Portugués. After the river, PR-12 has an interchange with PR-2 (Ponce Bypass) between San Antón and Playa. In Barrio Playa, PR-12 has interchanges with Avenida Rafael Cordero Santiago, PR-52 (Autopista Luis A. Ferré) and Avenida Caribe, with intersections with Calle Puerto Viejo and PR-123 just before its southern terminus at the Port of Ponce and La Guancha. Most of the route has three lanes per direction, except in the southern terminus, where there are two lanes in both directions.^[1]

History

• 
  Southbound lanes of PR-12, near exit to PR-133 (Calle Comercio), in Ponce
• 
  2008 PR-12 photo with old PR-14 signing
• 
  Detailed map of PR-12

The 2.5 kilometer section of this road, from the Ponce Bypass to just a few feet from the Caribbean Sea at PR-123, was the first segment built; it was built in 1960.^[2] It was called "Avenida Malecón" (Pier Avenue), as it led from the then-urbanized area of Ponce to the Ponce wharf. The segment north of PR-12's intersection with PR-2, that is, between PR-2 and Avenida Tito Castro was built in the 1990s, and completed in 2002, as part of the Ponce en Marcha project.^[7]

PR-12 used to be signed as part of 'PR-14' before construction of the new PR-10 took place. The PR-14 signing has since been moved into another route (ending at Monumento a la abolición de la esclavitud, near downtown Ponce, while the PR-12 signing was assigned to the southernmost 5.28 kilometers of the old PR-14 route. As of 2008, the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works had not yet updated the signing on the road, but by 2011 it had.

Major intersections

The entire route is located in Ponce. All exits are unnumbered.

• 
  PR-12 north at its exit to Avenida Caribe
• 
  PR-12 north at its exit to Avenida Rafael Cordero Santiago
• 
  PR-12 north near its exit to PR-163 (Avenida Las Américas)

Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Playa	0.0	0.0	Rafael Cordero Santiago Port of the Americas (Calle A)	At-grade intersection; southern terminus of PR-12; access to the Complejo Recreativo y Cultural La Guancha
	0.4	0.25	PR-123 north	At-grade intersection; southern terminus of PR-123; access to Ponce Playa
	1.0– 1.1	0.62– 0.68	Avenida Caribe	Access to Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort
	1.3	0.81	Ponce Playa (Calle Puerto Viejo)	Southbound exit and entrance; access to the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources
	2.1	1.3	PR-52 – San Juan, Juana Díaz, Santa Isabel, Mayagüez	Cloverleaf interchange; PR-52 (unsigned PRI-1) exits 104A and 104B
	2.5	1.6	PR-52 south / PR-Avenida Rafael Cordero Santiago – Mayagüez, Plaza del Caribe	Partial cloverleaf interchange; access to the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, Judicial Center and the Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund Corporation
San Antón	3.3	2.1	PR-2 – Ponce Este, Ponce Oeste, Mayagüez	Diamond interchange; the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico access is via PR-2 west
	4.1	2.5	PR-163 (Avenida Las Américas[a]) – Ponce Centro, Ponce Este	Diamond interchange; Museo de Arte de Ponce and the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico access is via PR-163 west
	5.2	3.2	PR-133 (Calle Comercio) – Ponce Centro	Diamond interchange
	5.1	3.2	PR-1 west (Bulevar Miguel Pou)	Incomplete diamond interchange; southbound exit and entrance; access to Ponce Centro
Machuelo Abajo	5.7	3.5	Calle Obispado (unsigned)	At-grade intersection
	6.4	4.0	PR-14 – Ponce Norte, Adjuntas, Cerrillos	Seagull intersection; northern terminus of PR-12; access to Ponce Centro and Juana Díaz
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

1. Avenida Las Américas is also known as Bulevar Luis A. Ferré.

See also

• Puerto Rico portal
• U.S. Roads portal

• List of highways in Ponce, Puerto Rico
• List of streets in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Notes

1. The segment south of the Ponce Bypass (PR-2) was built in 1960. The segment north of PR-2 was built in the 1990s, and completed in 2002.