Any construction crew that returns to the stretch between Tres Palmas and the Punta Higüero lighthouse will be working under a document that says, in its own words, that it "does not propose to resume, expand, or complete the original project." That document is the Autoridad de Carreteras y Transportación's court-ordered work plan, which Paseo Responsable has posted in English and Spanish. Its date stamp reads July 30, 2026. For anyone who drives PR-4413 to El Faro, parks near Calypso, or walks down to the water at Tres Palmas, the plan works as a map of the coming months. It lists the work, the place, and the order.
Read together with what ACT has reportedly told the appeals court, the plan shows the paseo as designed is finished. The repairs are coming, and they are aimed at making the half-built pieces safe.
What the June Ruling Left Standing
On June 18, 2026, Judge Johnny Reyes ruled for Amigos de Tres Palmas and the other plaintiffs. NotiCel reported that the order immediately stopped all construction, ground movement, tree felling, installation, and other activity tied to the project. El Nuevo Día reported that the Aguadilla trial court revoked the permits. Metro reported that the court found the project's permit null because the alignment differed from the one approved in the location consultation.
That gap between the approved route and the one being built sits at the center of the case. The judgment describes the paseo approved in 2006 and 2008 as 5.6 kilometers, running from Rincón's public beach through Barrio Ensenada to Barrio Puntas. It separately records ACT's later description of the project as roughly 3.4 kilometers, 2 to 3.65 meters wide. The court found that the change required a formal amendment, and ACT never obtained one.
The ruling stopped the work but left what had already been built. According to NotiCel, it gave ACT 30 days to identify the areas it had disturbed and propose a schedule, and it ordered the agency to pay $15,000 in attorneys' fees. By the mayor's account in El Vocero, work had started in February 2024 and the investment totaled $10,806,117. More than two years of partial construction were left at a dead stop along the coast road.
Nine Sites, Sorted by What Is Still Unfinished
ACT's plan lists nine areas. It sets ground rules for all of them: only the work needed to reduce risk, nothing beyond the limits already disturbed, erosion controls kept in place, a traffic management plan during the work, and checks that access points and neighboring properties are not affected.
| Site | Condition ACT describes | What ACT proposes |
|---|---|---|
| Wall #1, near El Faro | Reinforced concrete wall partly built, fill not contained | Build only the missing section, compact fill, repave, then remove controls and barriers |
| El Faro parking area | Unfinished curb, about a two-inch height difference at the slab | Finish the curb, pave the transition, install "DO NOT ENTER" and "STOP" signs, protect poles until LUMA relocates them |
| Widening before Calle del Parque, in front of Calypso | Incomplete road edge | Drainage grate and pipe work, asphalt, erosion mesh, barriers around fixed poles |
| Widening after Calle del Parque, in front of Calypso | Incomplete road edge | Same treatment, kept within the area already disturbed |
| Camino Los Velázquez | No incomplete work | Collect safety devices and erosion controls |
| Tres Palmas sector | No incomplete work | Collect devices and controls, remove the temporary chain-link fence |
| Wall #6, Calle José Pérez | No incomplete work | Collect devices and controls |
| La Marina | About 120 meters of finished concrete paseo, topsoil never placed | Topsoil between paseo and fence, three drainage openings in the curb, remove mesh, barrels, and signs |
| PR-4413 | Asphalt damaged by trucks and equipment | Correct the affected pavement |
Wall #1 is the one place where ACT proposes new structural work. The plan says outright that finishing that section "is not proposed for the purpose of expanding or continuing the paseo." It is needed to hold the fill that is already there and keep erosion from undermining the road and a utility pole that serves the adjacent PREPA facilities.
The La Marina section is notable because it is the one piece of the paseo that was actually built. ACT describes it as a concrete pedestrian and cyclist passage of roughly 120 meters with side drainage and an asphalt surface. Only the topsoil was never placed. Once the barrels and sediment mesh are gone, that 120-meter stretch will be the only part of the paseo in its final form.
A Schedule That Starts When LUMA Arrives
The plan's attachment sets out 114 workdays over 23 weeks, in this order:
- Week 1: collect devices on municipal roads and at Tres Palmas, then lay topsoil at La Marina
- Weeks 2 to 10: finish the missing section of Wall #1, 44 workdays
- Weeks 10 to 11: El Faro parking, 6 workdays
- Weeks 12 to 15: the widening after Calypso, 18 workdays
- Weeks 15 to 22: the widening before Calypso, 38 workdays
- Week 23: asphalt, 4 workdays
The schedule has no calendar start date. Its notes say work is expected to begin after LUMA intervenes in the area, that the durations do not count any waiting time for LUMA, and that bad weather, rain, and storms can push progress back. If the first week started the day this post publishes, the asphalt week would arrive around the beginning of April 2027. Any wait for pole relocation would push it later.
The sequence also shows where the disruption will last longest. Tres Palmas comes first and needs only one day, with the chain-link fence coming down in that first week. The two Calypso widenings add up to 56 workdays, almost half the total, and they come late in the schedule. On the plan's own timeline, the fence at the reserve comes down months before the road in front of Calypso is finished.
Why the Original Design Stays Shelved Even If ACT Wins on Appeal
The plan's conclusion says it does not waive ACT's right to appeal, "which it will exercise in due course," and that the agency respectfully disagrees with the court's findings. In June, NotiCel reported that Mayor Carlos López Bonilla said the municipal team was reviewing the decision and that the DTOP secretary was weighing next steps, "incluso apelar."
The appeal has since been filed. Paseo Responsable reported on August 19 that ACT filed it with the Tribunal de Apelaciones on August 12, after its request for reconsideration was denied. According to the group, ACT is asking the court to reverse the June 18 judgment, including the revocation of the permit and the environmental determination and the award of attorneys' fees. The case is Amigos Tres Palmas, Inc. v. Autoridad de Carreteras y Transportación, Caso Núm. RN2025CV00064.
The same post reports two concessions in ACT's filing. It says the appeal acknowledges that the project has been substantially redesigned, so the challenged permits would have to go back to the relevant agencies for new review. It also says ACT stated it would not continue construction under the permits at issue in the case.
A win on appeal would undo the ruling and the attorneys' fees, but by ACT's own reported account it would not bring back the project that stopped in June. Any future paseo along this coast would be a redesigned project with new permits, and in its September 11 update Paseo Responsable said the group plans to keep watching that every repair stays within the limits the court set.
Using the Stretch While the Plan Runs
The plan itself calls PR-4413 "a principal access route to restaurants, El Faro, businesses, and beaches." It also notes that pedestrians walk in the roadway there because the road has no sidewalks. Repaving that road is the last item on the schedule. So the stretch most used on foot gets its final surface in week 23, after every other site is done.
The businesses along the route are open in the meantime. Ola Sunset Café at El Faro on PR-4413 runs its Sunset Dance Party with DJ Mouse every Tuesday, listed from 3 to 9 p.m. on the What's Up Rincón events calendar. El Faro's parking area is set for 6 workdays in weeks 10 and 11. The plan adds "DO NOT ENTER" and "STOP" signs there and protects the poles until LUMA moves them. The Calypso widenings come after that, and the plan calls those measures necessary to provide safety for users of what it describes as the commercial and tourist area.
Separate from ACT's plan, the coast has seen community work of its own. Paseo Responsable announced a coastal-erosion planting at the Balneario for September 12, organized with FirstBank and the Municipio de Rincón. Two more town-wide dates fall soon. On Friday, October 23, at 8:30 a.m., the Municipio holds its third breast cancer awareness march, "Hazlo por Ti," starting at Plaza de la Amistad. On Saturday, November 14, the First Annual Rincón Water Safety Fundraising Dinner runs from 6 to 10 p.m. at Villa Playa Maria on Carr. 4413, with Bomba performances, Pasando Lista, and DJ Mouse on the program.
When the barrels at Tres Palmas come down, that will mean ACT's week one has started, and the plan counts 22 more weeks of scheduled work after that.
If you own along the PR-413 and PR-4413 corridor, or are considering a property near El Faro, Tres Palmas, or La Marina, it helps to know how this public works timeline affects access and daily use before you commit. HECO PROPERTIES can go through the court record and the work schedule with you in confidence. Request a Private Consultation.
