Construction on the stalled $18-million runway extension at St. Croix’s Henry E. Rohlsen Airport will resume on July 5, according to the V.I. Port Authority.
The project will start again after a delay of over three months. It was halted after drifting dust affected the health of nearby residents of Yellow Cedar.
Many of the same residents are scheduled to be relocated at the expense of the Port Authority.
"We had hoped to resume the runway extension project by the end of this month, but we wanted to give the residents in the Yellow Cedar community, who live adjacent to the runway, more time to temporarily locate," said Port Authority Director Gordon Finch in a release.
He said no further delays were anticipated and that the project contractor, V.I. Cement and Building Products Inc., will be ready on July 5.
Finch said the Port Authority will, for 90 days, pay to temporarily relocate 40 families that are close to where heavy earthwork will be done.
Relocating the residents permanently was always a part of the Port Authority’s overall plan for the runway project because the day-night sound level produced by increased air traffic would exceed federal standards. In total, there are 31 properties that must be purchased by the Port Authority, 25 of which have dwellings that house 65 families.
The Port Authority’s buyout plan has two phases, the first being two appraisals for each property. The appraisals have been completed and the Port Authority is in the process of negotiating with property owners and residents in an effort to permanently relocate them.
Ninety percent of the buyout – and a large portion of the expansion construction –will be paid for using federal discretionary funds. Port Authority officials had worried that the delay would affect funding for the project.
The $18-million project is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2002. The current phase, the first, is expected to be completed in November, Finch said.
