Nov. 22, 2002 – Traffic on the waterfront is again moving in both lanes, as the monumental sewage project by the Alexander A. Farrelly Justice Complex was completed this week with no fanfare from the Department of Public Works.
In fact, it was not possible to get any information out of the department Friday, as calls were not returned. However, the bottleneck created by the detour through the Fort Christian parking lot is no more, and motorists looked very happy about that as traffic in both lanes moved smoothly. The work started in late September.
Everton Gibson, Public Works project supervisor, said on Oct. 16 that he hoped to finish by the following weekend, or the middle of the following week. He said at the time, however, that that was a cautious estimate. "It's a ticklish project," he said then. "You never know what you're going to meet."
Public Works met a bevy of problems, including not having the correct piping. "We had to get an emergency request through Property and Procurement to get the parts that weren't on the island," Gibson said. "It's not a small thing – it's a 30-inch pipe we're working on." Problems were also created by speeding drivers knocking over the detour blockades, which necessitated installing a temporary speed bump.
The work came under a lot of public criticism, especially because tourists walking to town from the West Indian Co. dock had to walk by the unsightly work site. Public Works officials explained at the time that they had no control over when a major pipe would break. They said they had no choice but to repair it immediately and contain the raw sewage that was spilling into the harbor.
Gibson said early Friday afternoon that he or a Public Works spokesperson would contact the Source with more information, but none was received.
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