While I can’t verify this, I have been told that the 18 wheelers and big trucks don’t have any weight limits. I have definitely have never seen a truck weighing station. I have seen trucks sagging lower than they should on almost a daily occurrence. So if there are rules on weight limits, they are never enforced.

So as the hefty trucks drive the streets of Puerto Rico, they tear up the roads because the roads were not designed to handle the weight that is being put on them. It would probably cost a lot less to enforce weight limit laws (if there are any) and put some truck weighing stations in than to repair the damage cause by the trucks.

The gutter system here is unlike anything I have seen before. In the article “Puerto Rico could be ‘isolated for days’ after a storm” it states

“Our draining system was designed for 1940s development, and little has been done since to upgrade it,”

Instead of having holes in the curbs for water to drain, they have a metal grate that takes the entire width of the road. It looks like a similar concept to a “cattle guard” (if you have ever seen one) but more sturdy.

There are problems with this setup. As the roads and potholes are always getting patched, the road rises with the excess concrete. The gutter becomes a huge pothole. Unfortunately, this is also an issue with the manholes.

The system must not be able to handle much water because of small pipes or possible backups somewhere. When it rains, it doesn’t take much runoff to cause water to come gushing out of the manholes. The streets quickly turn into small streams and ponds. After a heavy rain, the streets really start to crack.

The Puerto Rican Government either has no idea on how to fix the roads, don’t care, or they don’t have the money. It can’t be the latter because they are definitely taxing the hell out of me but this is to be discussed in anther article :-).

As you read in my previous article the potholes are horrendous. One of the main issues is they don’t know how to fix them. To be honest, I don’t know how to either, but I do know there has to be more than just throwing some asphalt in the hole. I mean there has to be! Because when they finally get around to filling up a hole, a few months later it is back and worse than it was to begin with.

Like I just said, “when they finally get around to filling up a hole”. The time it takes them to “fix” things can literally take months. The catch 22 is if they were to fix holes before they got to be a problem, there would never be problem. So there is a vicious circle of playing catch up.

I am sure you have seen the thick metal plates being used to temporarily cover up big holes on the streets in the States. I know Texas would use these plates so rush hour traffic wouldn’t come to a stand still. They would then remove the plate to work on the road at night. Puerto Rico likes to use the metal plates here as a permanent fix. I know of a major highway here that ever since I have lived has had a metal plate on it covering potholes.

The most talked about news today at work is Fortuno won the Puerto Rican Primary to run for Governor (In Puerto Rico the highest office that can be held is Governor). It has been stated that Fortuno had a 60% majority vote for the New Progressive Party (NPP).

NPP is basically the Puerto Rican version of the Republican Party. NPP is currently in control of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives and Senate.

It seems everyone at work was pretty much for him to win. I  don’t follow the local politics as I should. From my understanding Fortuno and the NPP is strongly for statehood. Statehood in my personal opinion would be a great thing for Puerto Rico and would eventually fix many of the problems and hopefully fix the corruption in the government.

Potholes are every where in Puerto Rico. The only place that you can drive with out too many problems is on a toll road, but that isn’t a guarantee either. Driving on the roads is like a game of dodge ball. People would rather swerve over to your lane and possibly hit your car than to hit a hole in the road. It is assumed by the locals that you will be watching all lanes for upcoming obstacles, so you can prepare to move out of the way when the car next to you decides to miss the pit in from of him.

And then comes the rain. Let me tell you how fun it is when there is just enough water to fill up the potholes and you can’t tell where they are.

I have been lucky and only had 2 large leaks in my tires because of the bad roads. My tires aren’t the best, but I also have to fill them up all of the time because of slow leaks from hitting the holes to hard. I do recommend that if you have to replace your tires your best bet is to buy them from Costco. Their warranty is definitely worth the cost of the tire (which isn’t bad anyway).

Puerto Rico does not observe Daylight Saving Time (DST). No matter how lucky we are that we don’t have to observe this “fake time” (as my mom calls it). It is still confusing for Puerto Ricans because unfortunately everything Puerto Rico does revolves around the US. The problem is we have to convert the times. So if I have a regular appointment at 10am, it is now changed to 11am. To give some examples - So the time changes for our regular conference calls at work. TV time change to fit your times. My clock that magically receives it time somehow through the air will be off by an hour. The list can could go on for ever.