The V.I. Water and Power Authority on Thursday will wind down heavy equipment work installing underground conduits on Queen Cross and Strand Streets in Christiansted and move to King Street between Market and Prince Streets, temporarily changing traffic patterns in the town, the authority has announced.
Starting Thursday, motorists entering King Street from Bassin Triangle will detour to the right at Market Street, and can make left turns at Hill Street and Prince Street to access lower King Street and other town areas, according to a statement from WAPA.
Motorists can also enter the downtown areas by taking Watergut Street from Bassin Triangle to King Cross Street. Signs will identify roads closed to vehicular traffic, and flaggers will be present to give information and to aid foot traffic.
Trucking companies with larger trucks servicing St. Croix’s east end have been notified to travel on the south shore road.
WAPA contractor J. Benton Construction began cutting the road in the King Street area Wednesday, and work along King Street will continue daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The King Street portion of the project will be completed in segments, with the aim of keeping traffic interruptions to a minimum, WAPA said.
Through Jan. 18, customers patronizing Christiansted businesses can present a validated receipt from a business for free parking in the government parking lot.
Residents who register at www.vialert.gov will receive regular updates when traffic detours become necessary. Information is also available on WAPA’s website at www.viwapa.vi and on the authority’s Facebook page.
This work in Christiansted is a critical component of WAPA’s larger underground mitigation plan for the Virgin Islands, according to WAPA officials, who say there should be a significant increase in service reliability in the town area when it is complete. Moving power underground is also expected to reduce the destruction and lengthy restoration process of Christiansted’s electrical distribution system in the event of a hurricane or other major events.
As the weeks progress, work will continue on King Street, Church Street and Company Street, with this phase of the work expected to be completed by March.
The installation of underground ducts and electrical cables in Christiansted is being done in three phases. Phase I, completed in 2010, serves as the backbone for future projects to remove the aerial system in Christiansted. Phase II includes underground line installation on Strand, King, and Company Streets, and Phase III will include Queen, Hill, East and Fisher Streets in Christiansted town.
The phase II portion of the project is funded by several federal grants and requires a 75/25 percent cost share between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and WAPA. Phase II has a total price tag of roughly $2 million. WAPA’s 25 percent of the cost share is funded by customer payments into the Self-Insurance and Hazard Mitigation Fund, which was established in 1994 to help minimize the potential impact of natural disasters on the electrical system and to initiate immediate restoration of the system should there be a delay or absence of federal funds during disaster restoration.
The customer surcharge was eliminated in February 2006 when the fund reached its approved limit of $8 million. WAPA currently has projects under way to put power lines underground in Market Square, St. Thomas, and from Estate Richmond to the proposed Midland Substation in Estate Spanish Town, St. Croix. On St. Thomas and St. Croix, underground lines already serve customers from the power plants to the hospitals and the airports.
