The St. Thomas Coastal Zone Management Committee approved the second phase of improvements to Raphune Hill Road Tuesday night, granting a federal consistency determination to replace and move the intersection of Route 38 and 381.
Kim Campo-Allen, an environmental protection specialist with the Federal Highway Administration, gave an abridged version of the presentation she shared during a public hearing on the project in November. The project was split into three phases shortly after its inception in 2008. The first of those phases — an improvement to the intersection of Route 38 and Route 313 — was completed in 2017. The third phase isn’t slated for federal consistency review until 2027 or later.
Campo-Allen said the second phase involves “obliterating” the existing intersection and shifting the connection eastward by approximately 400 feet. Once built, the new intersection will include a traffic signal, sidewalks, a bus stop and crosswalk. The phase of work also includes realigning approximately 750 feet of Route 381 to accommodate the new intersection.
Many of the commissioners’ questions focused on the project’s impact on existing property owners. The V.I. Public Works Department’s federal acquisition specialist, LeAnn Fredericks, said the department has a temporary construction easement on one of the properties and is attempting to contact the owners of another.
“So that’s typically part of the right of way acquisition process, just reaching out to the property owners and getting a hold of them,” she said. “So yes, we have time to work on that, and that is currently being done, and construction won’t begin until we have the acquisition process complete.”
Though several other property owners have raised concerns and told commissioners that they had yet to be contacted, Fredericks and Campo-Allen explained Tuesday that many of those are slated to be impacted by the third phase of work. Campo-Allen said DPW has its own priority list and that the third phase of the Raphune Hill Road improvement may be “pretty far down the line for them” while they move forward with projects like the rehabilitation of Veterans Drive.
“It’s their priority list, and I’m not sure where contract three of this project lies, so they may not be super far down the right of way acquisition process for contract three,” she said. “That’s why we’re just moving contract two forward, since we’re far enough along in design and [Fredericks has] been in contact with all of the property owners for contract two, to start moving the project along.”
Commissioners still had questions about eminent domain and what would happen if the government and property owners couldn’t come to an agreement in the future.
“Often, this process takes a significant amount of time, negotiation, meetings,” CZM Director Marlon Hibbert said. “The last, last resort is of course what would be considered a ‘taking’ — which I don’t think the Department of Public Works is wishing to do, because that can of course get political. So it’s always communication, negotiation, and assuring and ensuring that property owners — homeowners who may be impacted by any realignments, any relocations — are given … a fair shake for their property.”
After voting 3-0 to grant the federal consistency determination, CZM Committee Chair Jawanza Hilaire stressed that the committee wanted to see sustainable and responsible development in the interiors of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“There’s still a lot of work to go,” he said. “You guys got approval, but you know, I think there’s still several concerns out there — especially when it comes to the future projects.”
The committee also granted a federal consistency determination for proposed improvements to the V.I. Economic Development Authority’s administration building at Nisky Center to include interior renovations and various site improvements. A planned public hearing on the V.I. Port Authority’s rebuild of the Cyril E. King Airport was removed from the agenda to give presenters more time to prepare.
