Reader William P. on St. Croix asks: “What is the status of the Christiansted bypass? When will it open? What is the holdup?”
During a discussion Tuesday concerning recent storm damage to St. Croix roads, Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls said the Christiansted bypass will likely wrap up in the next six months after infrastructure, sidewalks and drainage structure work, along with the paving of the asphalt is completed.
While there have been surprises and delays along the way, including a rock slide in 2008, the project as a whole has not been substantially delayed. Plans for the bypass called for the project to be done in three separate sections, with three separate, consecutive contracts.
Some initial news reports erroneously suggested the entire bypass would be completed in 2009, based upon announcements that phase one—the initially funded portion—could be complete by then. Phase one included excavation, drainage structures, erosion control and soil stabilization measures, but not paving and sidewalks, for instance.
Testifying to the V.I. Senate in 2007 before the project commenced, Smalls said, “the first phase is to be complete in 2009, then it will be another two years at least for the remainder.”
If it is complete in six months, that would meet the time frame Smalls estimated prior to groundbreaking.