Virgin Islands Secures Almost Two Million Dollars for Project on Main Street, St. Thomas

Project will augment similar mitigation effort underway in Christiansted, St. Croix

Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. said Tuesday that the territory has received $1.6 million in federal grant funding to begin burying overhead electrical cables underground on Main Street in Charlotte Amalie, a significant project that will mitigate economic losses by accelerating the pace of recovery from major storms.

“The V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) worked jointly with V.I. Water and Power Authority (WAPA) to prepare the application for FEMA’s highly-competitive Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant funding. VITEMA, which is the only local agency that can apply to FEMA for grant funding, submitted the application in March 2008. The $1,632,469 grant is to construct a multi-way electrical duct bank system on Main Street for communications, primary and secondary electrical distribution, for conduits and for five manholes along a 1,700 feet route along Main Street,” de Jongh said.

Once the construction is complete, WAPA will purchase cable and materials, and then hire a contractor to install them. “This project will significantly reduce damage to the electrical system and diminish recovery time after a storm as the cables will be buried to avoid the destructive forces of a tropical storm,” said Hugo Hodge Jr., WAPA Executive Director.

In preparation for the underground project, VITEMA hired URS Corporation to map the existing electrical cables, water pipes and sewer lines underneath the streets in downtown Charlotte Amalie which includes areas surrounding Raadets Gade, Hibiscus Alley, Veterans Drive, Tolbod Gade and Post Office Alley. WAPA will be able to use the data collected to map out where the cables should be buried and to minimize disruption of traffic once the project begins.

“Mitigation is key to the territory’s ability to quickly recovering from the disastrous effects of major storms,” said Mark A. Walters, VITEMA Director. “For businesses, it’s crucial that they are able to continue operations and keep workers gainfully employed. For our utility, it means less money and manpower spent repairing lines in the aftermath of a storm.”

A similar project is underway on St. Croix. VITEMA and WAPA also worked in conjunction to apply for FEMA pre-disaster mitigation grant funding for the Christiansted Underground Project, which includes streets in the town of Christiansted.

Overall, de Jongh said, FEMA has awarded the territory $3.74 million for Phase One and $3.67 million for the second phase of the project, which is expected to take an estimated three years to complete. The territory has already buried cables to both airports, both hospitals and both campuses of University of the Virgin Islands.

WAPA began the first of two phases in the Christiansted Underground Project in September, Hurricanes and tropical storms caused almost $3 million in damage in downtown Christiansted between 1989 and 2004. General Engineering Corporation is excavating and then will install conduits and manholes from the Richmond Substation to West Street in the town of Christiansted. The installation of conduits will continue to Strand Street and then on to the Prince Street intersection. The second phase will include underground installation on Strand, King and Company Streets. 

The grant funding for the Main Street and Christiansted underground projects required a 75-25 percent cost share between the FEMA and WAPA. WAPA is using about $3 million from its Self Insurance and Hazard Mitigation Fund to match the grants.

The U.S. Congress approved a $50 million appropriation in 2005 for FEMA’s pre-disaster mitigation program. The funding is slated for mitigation projects that reduce overall risks to life and property and to lessen state and local government’s dependence on funding from actual disaster declarations.

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