April 23, 2004 – Work should begin in two months on the $8 million Red Hook marine terminal project on St. Thomas's East End, the Port Authority's executive director, Darlan Brin, told senators at a hearing Friday on St. John.
Testifying before the Planning and Environmental Protection Committee, Brin said he foresees major problems because ferry and barge traffic must continue to use the area while the terminal is under construction.
To help alleviate the problems, VIPA may have to relocate heavy barge traffic to Crown Bay, he said. But concrete mixers and cars would still use barges leaving and returning to Red Hook.
Meanwhile, Brin said, the Port Authority is looking at options for moving commercial traffic permanently to somewhere on the south side of St. Thomas. "It's reached the point where we can't have [both] cargo and passengers at Red Hook," he said.
VIPA also needs to find someplace for vehicles to park while the project is under construction. Brin said one idea was to use the nearby Housing, Parks and Recreation Department land where temporary housing was erected after Hurricane Marilyn, but someone complained that the movement of traffic would threaten the endangered tree boa.
"A guy found one snake," Brin said, referring to the tree boa.
He said the area is hardly in a pristine state, since it was used for the temporary housing, which was demolished after several years.
The Red Hook marin terminal projects calls for shifting the channel southward to provide a straight shot for vessels heading to St. John and to protect turtles that live along the shore. Brin said boats that now moor in that area will have to move.
Most of Friday's hearing was devoted to another topic – the foul odor that continues to permeate the area around the construction site of the Enighed Pond commercial port project in Cruz Bay. For a report on those discussions, see "VIPA chief: Endure odor 'til dredging's over".
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