Gov’t breaks ground on $16M ‘Sciences Boulevard’
From left: Gov. García-Padilla, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Puerto Rico Transportation Secretary Rubén Torres review the plans for the “Sciences Boulevard” project.
Gov. Alejandro García-Padilla and U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx jointly announced over the weekend the beginning of construction for the “Sciences Boulevard,” a $16 million project that will become the main artery in the Science City district.
The construction phase will create 150 jobs, the government said.
“We have to update our [island’s] infrastructure to achieve the competitive level that will allow us to produce more and with better quality,” García-Padilla said.
The Boulevard will create significantly better traffic conditions in road PR-21, with new access ways to Las Américas highway, connecting the Medical Center, the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Molecular Sciences Building and the Science and Technology Trust, among other facilities, the governor said.
“Improving one of San Juan’s busiest interstates is good news for the entire island, and will help grow jobs and businesses,” said 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.”
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.
