V.I. Water and Power Authority contractor J. Benton Construction will begin repaving the streets where underground electric and water lines have been installed recently to improve reliability of service in Christiansted town.
In a statement issued by WAPA, the authority said during the three days of repaving, Tuesday through Thursday, work will begin at 4 a.m. and the roads will reopen by no later than 3:30 p.m. each day. Detours will be available and flaggers will assist in traffic directions.
On Tuesday, the paving operation will be on Strand Street between King Cross and Prince Streets. The government parking lot can be accessed from Watergut Road.
On Wednesday, the repaving operation will be on King Cross Street from Watergut Road to King Street and then on Strand Street from King Cross Street to Queen Cross Street.
On Thursday, repaving will begin at the intersection of Strand and Queen Cross Streets and move down Queen Cross Street to the Boardwalk and also along Strand Lane.
During the repaving operation, work crews will be milling away flow fill material from the road, vacuuming and compacting asphalt, the release indicated.
Also Wednesday, underground work will continue on King Street. Work crews will be trenching, laying conduits and covering up the open trench daily from Prince Street to King Cross Street until that section of King Street is completed. Lower areas of King Street and Christiansted town can be accessed from the Christiansted Bypass.
The King Street portion of the project will be completed in segments with a minimum of vehicular traffic interruption, WAPA said. Customers patronizing Christiansted businesses can present a validated receipt from a business for free parking in the government parking lot until Friday, according to WAPA.
To receive regular updates on WAPA related traffic changes, register at www.vialert.gov. Information is also available on WAPA’s website at www.viwapa.vi and on WAPA’s Facebook page.
WAPA will also continue cable splicing of its new 69kV transmission line at the intersection of Route no, 68 (in the vicinity of the Hovensa training facility) and Route no. 66 along the Melvin Evans Highway beginning Tuesday. Fortress Electric crews will work from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays until project completion, according to WAPA.
The work will begin along the shoulder of the highway and will not necessitate lane closings in that area. A total of six manholes will be terminated along route 66. While no service interruptions are anticipated, WAPA is cautioning drivers to be aware of the construction on Melvin H. Evans Highway from the Home Depot area west towards the Diageo complex.
The new transmission line will connect the recently upgraded 69/25kV Richmond substation through an entirely underground duct bank along the feeder’s route to the planned Midland substation in Spanish Town. Currently that feeder is routed underground from Richmond substation along Route no. 75 to the stop light at Golden Rock Shopping Center, on to Route no. 703 (Golden Rock Shopping Center south to Contentment Road), Route no. 70 (Queen Mary Highway), Route no. 682 (Cool Out Bar to Schuster Water), and along Route no. 68 to the Melvin Evans Highway west to Hannah’s Rest intersection. Feeder no. 8 is then served by overhead lines to Frederiksted town. Conduits have been installed to Frederiksted town in anticipation of completing work putting power lines underground in the town area as soon as funds permit, according to WAPA.
The new line will ultimately continue along Route no. 663 to feed directly from the intersection of the Evans Highway and the Diageo complex into the new substation facility, which WAPA anticipates completing in 2014. Once operational, the western portion of St. Croix from Estate Profit to Hams Bluff will be served from that facility. Reliability should increase by having shortened feeders and line crews will have the ability to isolate areas for maintenance work, etc. as opposed to interrupting service to an entire feeder, according to WAPA
During the construction phase, Fortress Electric crews will drain, dry and clean manholes, rack power cables, and splice, ground and test high voltage power cables in 50 existing manholes along the transmission feeder route. The installation of the line is funded by the authority’s 2010 issued revenue bonds at a cost of $963,000 and is part of the WAPA’s 25-year plan to upgrade the existing distribution system.
