# Puerto Rico Highway 12

Puerto Rico Highway 12 (PR-12), also called Avenida Malecón, and Avenida Santiago de los Caballeros, is a 6.4-kilometer, limited-access highway entirely located within the city limits of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and connecting Puerto Rico Highway 14 to the La Guancha area in Barrio Playa in Ponce. It is similar to a freeway but has one traffic light near its intersection with PR-14. In addition to its northern and southern terminus, the highway has four full interchange exits: PR-52, PR-2, PR-133/Calle Comercio, and Avenida Las Américas. Since PR-12's southern terminus is at the Port of Ponce, its traffic volume is expected to grow as construction in the new Port of the Americas is completed.

## History

* Southbound lanes of PR-12, near exit to PR-133 (Calle Comercio), in Ponce
* 2008 PR-12 photo with old PR-14 signing
* Detailed map of PR-12
The 2.5 kilometer section of this road, from the Ponce Bypass to just a few feet from the Caribbean Sea at PR-123, was the first segment built; it was built in 1960. It was called "Avenida Malecón" (Pier Avenue), as it led from the then-urbanized area of Ponce to the Ponce wharf. The segment north of PR-12's intersection with PR-2, that is, between PR-2 and Avenida Tito Castro was built in the 1990s, and completed in 2002, as part of the Ponce en Marcha project.
PR-12 used to be signed as part of 'PR-14' before construction of the new PR-10 took place. The PR-14 signing has since been moved into another route (ending at Monumento a la abolición de la esclavitud, near downtown Ponce, while the PR-12 signing was assigned to the southernmost 5.28 kilometers of the old PR-14 route. As of 2008, the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works had not yet updated the signing on the road, but by 2011 it had.

## Major intersections

The entire route is located in Ponce. All exits are unnumbered.
* PR-12 north at its exit to Avenida Caribe
* PR-12 north at its exit to Avenida Rafael Cordero Santiago
* PR-12 north near its exit to PR-163 (Avenida Las Américas)
| Location | km | mi | Destinations | Notes |
| Playa | 0.0 | 0.0 | Rafael Cordero Santiago Port of the Americas (Calle A) | At-grade intersection; southern terminus of PR-12; access to the Complejo Recreativo y Cultural La Guancha |
| Playa | 0.4 | 0.25 | PR-123 north | At-grade intersection; southern terminus of PR-123; access to Ponce Playa |
| Playa | 1.0– 1.1 | 0.62– 0.68 | Avenida Caribe | Access to Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort |
| Playa | 1.3 | 0.81 | Ponce Playa (Calle Puerto Viejo) | Southbound exit and entrance; access to the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources |
| Playa | 2.1 | 1.3 | PR-52 – San Juan, Juana Díaz, Santa Isabel, Mayagüez | Cloverleaf interchange; PR-52 (unsigned PRI-1) exits 104A and 104B |
| Playa | 2.5 | 1.6 | PR-52 south / PR-Avenida Rafael Cordero Santiago – Mayagüez, Plaza del Caribe | Partial cloverleaf interchange; access to the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, Judicial Center and the Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund Corporation |
| San Antón | 3.3 | 2.1 | PR-2 – Ponce Este, Ponce Oeste, Mayagüez | Diamond interchange; the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico access is via PR-2 west |
| San Antón | 4.1 | 2.5 | PR-163 (Avenida Las Américas) – Ponce Centro, Ponce Este | Diamond interchange; Museo de Arte de Ponce and the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico access is via PR-163 west |
| San Antón | 5.2 | 3.2 | PR-133 (Calle Comercio) – Ponce Centro | Diamond interchange |
| San Antón | 5.1 | 3.2 | PR-1 west (Bulevar Miguel Pou) | Incomplete diamond interchange; southbound exit and entrance; access to Ponce Centro |
| Machuelo Abajo | 5.7 | 3.5 | Calle Obispado (unsigned) | At-grade intersection |
| Machuelo Abajo | 6.4 | 4.0 | PR-14 – Ponce Norte, Adjuntas, Cerrillos | Seagull intersection; northern terminus of PR-12; access to Ponce Centro and Juana Díaz |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access |||||
* ↑ Avenida Las Américas is also known as Bulevar Luis A. Ferré.