March 18, 2004 — Local fishermen will have to wait another two to three weeks before reconstruction is complete on the Frederiksted fishermen's pier, which has been undergoing reconstruction since December 2002. Continuous construction setbacks regarding the pier have adversely affected the local fishing industry. For many fishermen, selling their catch is their only means of income.
Kendall Petersen, an independent fisherman in Frederiksted, says the delays have "crippled the fishing industry in the Frederiksted community." Petersen said that many Frederiksted fishermen have lost their boats or damaged their boat trailers because the boat ramps are inaccessible. "Numerous fishermen's boats have sank because they have not been able to pull the boats out of the water, the tide sank them," Petersen said. According to Petersen, the closest operable boat ramp is at the molasses pier near the old Martin Marietta aluminum plant.
The Frederiksted pier and boat ramp, which was first damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and suffered more damage from later hurricanes and tropical storms, has been closed since December 2002. When the project was first announced, DPNR planed to shut down one side of the pier at a time and open a previously unused area for launching. However, no alternative boat-launching site has been established for the fishermen to use while the construction work is taking place. (See "Fishermen's pier closed for reconstruction".)
Eran Flemming, a civil engineer with the Department of Public Works, says the wait will soon be over. "The only thing remaining [to construct] is the middle section of the boat ramp." Flemming explained that much of the project is contingent on the weather. He said the sea must be calm to pour the concrete under the pier. "The water has been turbid, this has prevented the company from pouring the concrete in the middle section of the pier." The work on the pier is being done by ALJ Construction, a local construction company.
Once the work on the $200,000 project is done, the pier must pass inspection by several government agencies, including Public Works, DPNR, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Building Permits.
Petersen says the dock has been under repair for too long. "They put rocks at the entrance to the ramp; we may have to move them without consent, we may take it into our own hands."
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