Department of Public Works Commissioner, Derek Gabriel, shared which funding sources would be used for various infrastructure projects and additional details about highlighted projects the department is working on during the Office of Management and Budget Revenue Generating Conference on Tuesday.
The three projects that will utilize the regular allocation from the Federal Highway Administration are Clifton Hill, Gallows Bay (Mt. Welcome Rd.) and Melvin Evans. The Gallows Bay project is underway and expected to be finished in February 2022, Clifton Hill target start date is January 2022 and completion date is September 2023, Melvin Evans is projected to begin in December of this year and be completed in February 2023. In Fiscal Year 2022 the projected spend is $11 million and Fiscal Year 2023 is $4 million.
Three projects that will use the funding from GARVEE bonds are Veterans Drive Phase 1, Mahogany Road, and Spring Gut. The first phase of the Veterans Drive Phase 1 project is well underway and is expected to be completed in November of 2021, Mahogany Road is slated to begin in April 2022 and completed in September 2023, and the Spring Gut project will commence in August of 2022 and be completed in October 2024. The spend in Fiscal Year 2022 will be $9 million and in Fiscal Year 2023 will be $16 million.
First Avenue Road repairs, Hull Bay Road repairs, Bugby Hole Phase 2 and Hermon Hill Phase 2 are all funded by Act 8454 according to the commissioner. $20 million will be spent in fiscal year 2022 with no money allocated for fiscal year 2023. Mr. Gabriel thanked all the members of the 34th Legislature for allocating the funding for these projects.
Two projects that he mentioned that will be funded by the Federal Transit Administration are the La Reine Transfer Station and the St. Croix Operations and Maintenance facility. $4.2 million is expected to be spent in Fiscal Year 2022 and $1.7 million is expected to be spent in Fiscal Year 2023.
He explained that the Knud Hansen W.I.C Building, the Vincent Mason Community Project, Cramer’s Park Projects and the Head Start Playground projects are all general capital improvement projects. The spend in fiscal year 2022 is expected to be $70 million and in 2023 that number will be $22 million. He expected these numbers to grow as more government of the Virgin Islands projects project worksheets get approved.
He classified drainage projects, Frenchman's Bay, St. John Watershed improvement projects, Water Island, St. Croix bridges and the Williams Delight Road reconstruction as Hurricane Road Recovery Projects. The expected spend for these projects is $24 million in fiscal year 2022 and $41 million in fiscal year 2023.
He said that the Community Disaster Block Grant funded projects are Donoe Road on St. Thomas, Northside Road on St. Croix, Veterans Drive Phase 2 and the Queen Mary Highway, were recently approved by the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority . Timelines for these projects are as follows: Donoe Road September 2021-October 2024, Northside Road September 2021-March 2025, Veterans Drive August 2022-December 2025 and Queen Mary Highway March 2022-August 2025. The spend in fiscal year 2022 is $9 million and 25 million in fiscal year 2023. He said “these are high dollar value project withs an extensive scope which means multi-year constructions schedules.”
Projects funded by the American Rescue Plan are Storm Water Drainage improvements, Community Wellness improvements and additional street sweepers. The expected spend on these projects is $14.5 million in fiscal year 2022 and $6 million in fiscal year 2023.
The projects that will be funded through the American Jobs Plan that Mr. Gabriel spoke about were the Centerline Road expansion, Raphune Hill Road expansion and improvements to the La Reine intersection. The projected spend for these projects is $4.5 million and $24 million in fiscal year 2023.
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