A private company hopes to construct a huge, glowing billboard along Weymouth Rhymer Highway, officials said Thursday. The public has a chance to weigh in.
The dynamic LED advertisement would be so dramatically different than what is in the area now that the Public Works Department has asked St. Thomians to comment for or against the Times Square-style advertisement space before approving or denying construction.
The 10-foot by 30-foot light-up billboard would sit on an enormous pillar near the Edith L Williams Academy High School, roughly halfway between the turnouts for Cost U. Less and PriceSmart in central St. Thomas, said Public Works Commissioner Derek Gabriel.
The plan was unlike anything the island has seen before, Gabriel said.
Engineering and public-safety teams with Public Works vetted the company and the planned billboard to ensure it was both windstorm resistant and not a distraction to drivers, he said.
Gabriel said he was not personally a fan of the billboard — which will be permanent — but that the public’s opinion mattered more than his in this case.
“It’s going to change the landscape,” he said. “It’s government’s responsibility to facilitate economic growth. We did our full diligence. It’s outside of what we normally approve, but there was no reason for me to deny it outright.”
Gabriel encouraged St. Thomians to write to contactdpw@dpw.vi.gov or call 340-776-4844 to comment on the proposed billboard. The public comment period was scheduled to close May 26.
