With Plastic and Recycled Materials: How PR-6642 in Florida Is Being Rebuilt After 33 Years of Neglect

On August 15, Governor Jenniffer González Colón laid the cornerstone for the rehabilitation of PR-6642 in the municipality of Florida, a nearly $3.5 million pilot project that for the first time in Puerto Rico incorporates recycled materials directly into the pavement mix, using technology from the company NewRoad ¹². The road, which connects communities in the island's central region, had not received a rehabilitation of this magnitude since 1992 — more than three decades of potholes, temporary patches, and accumulated deterioration ¹.

The announcement wasn't a standalone event. It was part of a working day the governor spent in Florida and Manatí, during which several public works disbursements were unveiled the same day: $401,915.70 to pave a stretch of PR-685 in Manatí, $332,113.88 to repair the state police barracks in that municipality, and improvements to schools like Evaristo Camacho ($405,783) and Petra Corretjer ($58,995) ². It's a pattern that has defined much of this administration's infrastructure policy: announcements bundled by region, combining state and federal funds, in single-day tours.

What sets PR-6642 apart from the rest of that work is the technology. NewRoad had already run a test in Canóvanas mixing asphalt with recycled plastic, where the company's lead engineer, Andrew LaCroix, explained that every mile of road paved with this method represents the recycling of roughly 600,000 plastic bags that would otherwise end up in a landfill ³. In Florida, the government describes the project as a pilot evaluation: if the pavement proves more durable against the wear typical of tropical weather and heavy traffic, the plan is to replicate it on other roads across the island.

Key numbers:

• $3.5 million invested in the PR-6642 rehabilitation.
• 1992 was the year of the road's last major rehabilitation — 33 years without significant intervention.
• More than 25,000 families in the area would directly benefit from the work, according to La Fortaleza ¹².
• $401,915.70 for PR-685 in Manatí, announced the same day.
• 2,405 property titles delivered in the region over the past 18 months, including 15 new titles and 125-gallon cisterns handed out that day in Manatí ².
• 600,000 plastic bags recycled per mile of road paved with NewRoad's technology, based on its earlier Canóvanas test ³.

What This Means for You

If you drive through the Florida, Barceloneta, or neighboring municipalities that rely on PR-6642 to connect to major highways, the promise is a less deteriorated road that, in theory, will hold up longer than a conventional repaving job. But read the fine print: this is a pilot project on a single secondary road, not an overhaul of the entire central highway network. The government hasn't given a completion date, so expect partial closures or traffic detours in the coming weeks as construction moves forward.

For the rest of Puerto Rico, the signal to watch is whether NewRoad and DTOP decide to scale this technology to other roads after evaluating how PR-6642 holds up over time. If the recycled material proves more resistant to water and extreme heat — two of the main enemies of traditional asphalt on the island — it could become a standard option in future Highways and Transportation Authority (ACT) bids.

How to Do It / Checklist

1. If you live or work near PR-6642 in Florida, follow DTOP and ACT's official social media accounts to stay on top of closures or detours as construction progresses.
2. Report potholes or road damage in your area through DTOP's complaint portal (dtop.pr.gov) or by calling the ACT regional office that covers your municipality.
3. If your family lives in Manatí and still doesn't have a property title, contact the municipal office to ask about the titling program that has already delivered 2,405 titles in a year and a half.
4. Check whether your household qualifies for the 125-gallon cistern distribution program announced that day, generally aimed at low-income families in rural areas.
5. If you're a contractor or civil engineering student, keep an eye on upcoming ACT bids: if the NewRoad pilot proves successful, new contracts using this technology are likely to open up.

What's Next

The government hasn't announced a specific completion date for the PR-6642 rehabilitation, but since it's a pilot project, a monitoring period is expected once the work wraps up to measure the pavement's durability against conventional asphalt. That outcome — more than the ribbon-cutting — will determine whether Puerto Rico adopts recycled materials more broadly across its highway network, at a time when ACT and DTOP face constant pressure over the state of the island's secondary roads.