Puerto Rico Highways

[KEK Inc.]

A while ago, I remember seeing 3 Interstate highways in Puerto Rico.  All of them are unsigned; however, the roads in the territories are apparently partially controlled by the FHA.  I did some researching and their road signs are all in Spanish (makes sense) and they use kilometers. 





Many of the expressways there are actually up to Interstate standard.

[oscar]

A while ago, I remember seeing 3 Interstate highways in Puerto Rico.  All of them are unsigned; however, the roads in the territories are apparently partially controlled by the FHA.  I did some researching and their road signs are all in Spanish (makes sense) and they use kilometers. 

But Puerto Rico isn't a "territory," but rather has semi-autonomous "commonwealth" status.  That means less direct Federal control (including by FHWA), more akin to the Feds' relationship with the 50 states.

For more on Puerto Rico's highways, see http://www.hawaiihighways.com/Puerto-Rico-page1.html (two pages of photos from my short 2002 trip there). 

[SP Cook]

Puerto Rico is an odd place for roads.  Yes, the signage is in Spanish, but they use "PARE" for "STOP".  Mexico and other places I have been use "ALTO".  Never knew why.

Cars are US standard  (this costs Puerto Ricans money, since most other countries in the Carribbean import a "third world" version w/o airbags and many other safety reinforcements, and w/o the smog stuff, but it probably saves lives too) and have "English" measurement (miles, degrees F, etc), and, this is weird, the distance signage is in metric (i.e. it is so many kms to a place) but the SL signage is in "English" (i.e. you cannot drive more than so many MPHs on your way).  There are no letters to denote this, you are just supposed to know that "35" on a distance sign means 35 km and 35 on an SL sign means 35 MPH.

Gasoline is sold in litres per dollar (which makes for some oddly low seeming price signs for those not used to world travel) and, until last year ESSO was still there (ExxonMobil left the market last year, and had never converted ESSO to Exxon as it did in the NE USA in the early 70s). 

The road signs are as outlined in the site above, and can be confusing since its not always clear what the different classes of roads are, and the same route may change classes as you travel.

[mhallack]

I'm guessing with the differences with Mexico using ALTO for stop VS Puerto Rico using PARE is reigonal language differences (In the UK they use the term WAY OUT, in the US we use EXIT)  I think though with standard spanish the correct term for stop is pare. Alto generally means tall in spanish. I believe outside Mexico all other spanish speaking countries use pare for stop. Any roadgeeks here from these countries or anyone travel there?

[J N Winkler]

Alto as an adjective does mean "high" or "tall" in Spanish, but on stop signs it is generally being used as a noun.  Near railroad crossings you often see "ALTO TOTAL" on white-background signs--this means "come to a complete stop."  Mexico does use pare, which is (if memory serves) an imperative form of the verb parar, on white-background signs in some contexts--for example, "PARE PARA INSPECCION ADUANAL A 300 M" ("stop for Customs inspection in 300 m").

[agentsteel53]

Alto as an adjective does mean "high" or "tall" in Spanish, but on stop signs it is generally being used as a noun.  Near railroad crossings you often see "ALTO TOTAL" on white-background signs--this means "come to a complete stop."  Mexico does use pare, which is (if memory serves) an imperative form of the verb parar, on white-background signs in some contexts--for example, "PARE PARA INSPECCION ADUANAL A 300 M" ("stop for Customs inspection in 300 m").

you are correct on the forms of "parar" (to stop), but I can't for the life of me remember what "alto" means as a noun.  Been a while since I took Spanish...

[Ian]

From my point of view, Peurto Rican BGS signage looks similar to Florida.

[Bickendan]

Alto as an adjective does mean "high" or "tall" in Spanish, but on stop signs it is generally being used as a noun.  Near railroad crossings you often see "ALTO TOTAL" on white-background signs--this means "come to a complete stop."  Mexico does use pare, which is (if memory serves) an imperative form of the verb parar, on white-background signs in some contexts--for example, "PARE PARA INSPECCION ADUANAL A 300 M" ("stop for Customs inspection in 300 m").

you are correct on the forms of "parar" (to stop), but I can't for the life of me remember what "alto" means as a noun.  Been a while since I took Spanish...

Halt? But that's a verb. Dunno.
'Not as high as the sopranos, but higher than the contraltos and tenors'?

[J N Winkler]

Halt?  But that's a verb.

It is both a noun and a verb in English.  In Spanish I believe it is a noun or adjective only.  Moreover, it does not have all the meanings of "stop" in English.  For instance, "complete stop" = alto total, but "bus stop" = parada de autobus.  Google Translate gives the following:

{alto total} = "total height"

{señal de alto total} = "total stop sign"

'Not as high as the sopranos, but higher than the contraltos and tenors'?

Yes, it has that meaning in Spanish as well.

[Bickendan]

So would this interpretation be valid: 'Altos must stop and yield right-of-way, but all other voices may proceed without stopping'?

I'm thinking someone in the Mexican Transport Department got sick of most mariachis

[mhallack]

I wish there was better shots of the signs, but this gives you a taste of freeway driving in PR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWG3wJw5ghE