Large machinery at the new gas station construction site, above, sat idle last week as DPNR officials investigated excavation violations.
After receiving phone calls from Estate Bethany residents concerned about the construction site of a new gas station in the area, St. John Administrator Leona Smith prompted officials to take a closer look at the work.
“I got several phone calls about the construction site with people saying the roadway was being undermined,” said Smith. “I went over to the construction site and I talked to a man with the excavating machine. He told me what happened and I called the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.”
When excavating the future site of a 24-hour gas station and convenience store on South Shore Road just over Jacob’s Ladder, workers apparently dug too close to the hillside, sending mounds of dirt and rocks cascading over the steep slope, Smith explained.
“The DPNR Commissioner sent someone out to the site immediately and they levied fines on the land owners for various violations,” said the island administrator. “All excavation work will be stopped until the violations are remedied.”
