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Rebuilding Surface, Maritime, and Air Transportation in Puerto Rico After Hurricanes Irma and Maria Supporting Documentation for the Puerto Rico Recovery Plan

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Rebuilding Surface, Maritime, and Air Transportation in Puerto Rico After Hurricanes Irma and Maria Supporting Documentation for the Puerto Rico Recovery Plan Rebuilding Surface, Maritime, and Air Transportation in Puerto Rico After Hurricanes Irma and Maria Supporting Documentation for the Puerto Rico Recovery Plan LIISA ECOLA, AARON C. DAVENPORT, KENNETH KUHN, ALEXANDER D. ROTHENBERG, ERIC COOPER, MARK BARRETT, THOMAS F. ATKIN, JEFFREY KENDALL HS AC HOMELAND SECURITY OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS CENTER An FFRDC operated by the RAND Corporation under contract with DHS RR2607_cover_v9.indd 1,3 9/8/20 2:30 PM Published in 2020 Preface On August 8, 2018, the government of Puerto Rico submitted to the U.S. Congress its economic and disaster recovery plan, as required by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Under contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) provided substantial support in developing the plan by soliciting and integrating inputs from a wide variety of stakeholders, contributing analysis where needed, and supported drafting the plan. The plan included an overview of damage and needs, courses of action to meet those needs, estimated costs of the courses of action, and potential funding mechanisms for those costs. To support federal agencies evaluating and funding recovery actions, HSOAC is releasing this detailed volume for the transportation sector. The purpose of this document is to provide decisionmakers greater detail on the conditions in Puerto Rico prior to the 2017 hurricane season, damage from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, courses of action that were identified to help the sector (and, more broadly, Puerto Rico) recover in a resilient manner, potential funding mechanisms, and considerations for implementers as they move forward. This document will likely also be of interest to other stakeholders funding or implementing recovery activities, including government of Puerto Rico and local agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. Furthermore, this body of material contributes to the larger literature about disaster recovery and resilience, and may be of interest to other communities planning for or recovering from similar disasters. This research was sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and conducted within the Strategy, Policy, and Operations Program of the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center, a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC). More information about HSOAC’s contribution to planning for recovery in Puerto Rico, along with links to other reports being published as part of this series, can be found at www.rand.org/hsoac/puerto-rico-recovery. About the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Section 305 of Public Law 107-296, as codified at 6 U.S.C. § 185), authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, to establish one or more FFRDCs to provide independent analysis of homeland security issues. The RAND Corporation operates HSOAC as an FFRDC for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under contract HSHQDC-16-D-00007. The HSOAC FFRDC provides the government with independent and objective analyses and advice in core areas important to the department in support of policy development, iii decisionmaking, alternative approaches, and new ideas on issues of significance. The HSOAC FFRDC also works with and supports other federal, state, local, tribal, and public- and private- sector organizations that make up the homeland security enterprise. The HSOAC FFRDC’s research is undertaken by mutual consent with DHS and is organized as a set of discrete tasks. This report presents the results of research and analysis conducted under contract 70FBR218F00000032, “Puerto Rico Economic and Disaster Recovery Plan: Integration and Analytic Support.” The results presented in this report do not necessarily reflect official DHS opinion or policy. For more information on HSOAC, see www.rand.org/hsoac. For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR2607. iv Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................................... iii Figures .......................................................................................................................................... vii Tables ............................................................................................................................................. ix Summary ......................................................................................................................................... xi Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... xviii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ xx 1. Background, Methods, and Data ................................................................................................. 1 Overview of Transportation in Puerto Rico ................................................................................ 1 Damage Assessment Methodology and Data .............................................................................. 2 Damage Caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria .......................................................................... 8 The Organization of This Report ............................................................................................... 10 2. Damage Assessment: Surface Transportation ........................................................................... 11 Roads and Bridges ..................................................................................................................... 11 Public Transportation ................................................................................................................ 22 Funding, Functional, and Operational Challenges .................................................................... 26 Hurricane Damage ..................................................................................................................... 28 3. Damage Assessment: Maritime Transportation ........................................................................ 33 Key Assets and Governance ...................................................................................................... 33 Prestorm Conditions and Challenges ......................................................................................... 51 Hurricane Damage ..................................................................................................................... 68 4. Damage Assessment: Air Transportation .................................................................................. 99 Key Assets and Governance ...................................................................................................... 99 Prestorm Conditions and Challenges ....................................................................................... 104 Hurricane Damage ................................................................................................................... 112 5. Recovery and Economic Development Needs ........................................................................ 125 Priority Challenges to Address During Recovery ................................................................... 125 Barriers and Facilitators to Response ...................................................................................... 127 Key Information Gaps ............................................................................................................. 129 6. The Strategy for Recovery in Puerto Rico’s Transportation Sector ........................................ 132 The Process for Developing Courses of Action ...................................................................... 132 Decisionmaking for Courses of Action and Portfolios ............................................................ 134 Transportation Courses of Action ........................................................................................... 138 7. Conclusions and Policy Implications ...................................................................................... 145 Appendix A. Courses of Action .................................................................................................. 147 TXN 1 Refine and Enforce Design Standards for Roads and Bridges .................................... 148 v TXN 2 Harden Vulnerable Transportation Infrastructure ....................................................... 153 TXN 3 Redevelop Rafael Hernández Airport ......................................................................... 157 TXN 4 Repair Airport Damage ............................................................................................... 161 TXN 5 Road Maintenance and Repair Program ...................................................................... 164 TXN 6 Update Airport Emergency Plans ................................................................................ 169 TXN 7 Incentivize a Variety of Mobility Options .................................................................. 174 TXN 8 Improve Bus Service ................................................................................................... 183 TXN 9 Develop an Intelligent Transportation System ............................................................ 189 TXN 10 Develop Redundant Seaport
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