Governor oversees the groundbreaking ceremony for the Blvd. of Sciences

May 31, 2014 – San Juan – Governor Alejandro García Padilla and the United States Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx jointly announced today the beginning of construction for the Sciences Boulevard, one of the key projects of the Economic Recovery Agenda for the repositioning of Puerto Rico in the global knowledge-based economy. Public investment in this project will total $16 million. The construction phase will create 150 jobs.

“We are transforming Puerto Rico and the Economic Recovery Agenda we presented about a month ago is the route towards that goal. We have to update our country’s infrastructure to achieve the competitive level that will allow us to produce more and with better quality,” said the Governor.

“Improving one of San Juan’s busiest interstates is good news for the entire island, and will help grow jobs and businesses,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We need Congress to pass a long-term transportation bill so we can continue investing in projects like this one to improve safety, reduce traffic congestion and create ‘ladders of opportunity’ for thousands.”

García Padilla said the Boulevard will create significantly better traffic conditions in road PR-21, with new access ways to Las Américas Highway. Road PR-21 will become the main artery in the City of Sciences area, connecting the Medical Center, the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Molecular Sciences Building and the Science and Technology Trust, among other facilities.

The Medical Center is home to the biggest conglomerate of health institutions in Puerto Rico and the Medical Sciences Campus, the main medical school in the island. The Comprehensive Cancer Center will host a highly specialized oncological services institution, including chemotherapy, breast cancer treatment, bone marrow transplants and nuclear medicine, as well as important clinical and epidemiological investigations centered in the specific needs of the population of Puerto Rico and Latino communities in the United States. The goals that will be met through the Comprehensive Cancer Center will multiply with the City of Sciences, which will be a hub for state-of-the-art research and development, not only in the area of life sciences, but in future technologies, as well.

“Our administration has several important public infrastructure projects in different stages of development. Many of them aim to improve facilities for daily use. Others, such as the Sciences Boulevard, the Comprehensive Cancer Center and the City of Sciences, are highly strategic projects geared towards our economic recovery. Essentially, our Agenda has the same goal Secretary Foxx had when he was Mayor of Charlotte: creating jobs, economic activity and wealth,” said García Padilla.