There is no Virgin Islands resident who is not happy to see improvements in infrastructures. Most of the current projects underway are long overdue and it is encouraging each time we see efforts being made on roads, bridges, and utilities. Unfortunately, many of these projects disrupt and deface our roadways in seemingly avoidable ways. Several utility upgrades come to mind where newly paved roads were torn open to facilitate work, only to be repaved and repaired in a substandard manner. Road upkeep and repair are clearly at an all-time crisis in the Territory. Poor drainage and runoff of rainwater, too many unpaved roads emptying out gravel and rock onto main arteries, heavy equipment, and overall age have taken a toll on our island roadways. Repairing and repaving are astronomically costly and often take extended time to occur. Damage and disruption to vehicular traffic becomes unavoidable and potentially expensive.
The current utility upgrade taking place on Queen Mary Highway just west of the Territorial Court is a good example. Ideally this work should have been planned to be done during the recent time period when the road was already closed to traffic for over a year to rebuild the bridge. Even if such coordination of timing was completely unavoidable, the use once again of Beulah Way as a detour should not have occurred without first preparing that road for the increased load of traffic. Specifically, the section of road between the National Guard headquarters and Alfredo Andrews School in certain spots is nearly unnavigable to driving. The roadway itself, especially as it crosses the bridge just east of the National Guard resembles that of one which had received air bombardment in a war zone. It is unimaginable that this roadway could have been deemed ready to be used as a viable alternative for traffic. While we can understand that road repair costs money, some sense of priority must be made to roads designated for increased use. Eventually vehicles navigating the craters in the road will create unsafe driving hazards.
While there are certainly other stretches of island roads in an equal state of disrepair, due to its current designation as a detour for a significant amount of vehicular use, that road must be repaved before it causes accidents. Tax day has just passed, usually filling government coffers with an increase in funding. Certainly, now is an appropriate time to give such a project the consideration of priority that it deserves.
David M. Capriola, St. Croix
