USVI-On-Line

I understand the concern, it is a risk...

But I've been over this spot 4 times in the last two days and it is easy to navigate at this point.

Agreed... I am glad that we have made some difference and hope that they rush the repairs so that nothing tragic happens.

The repair is "out for bid" and is reported to be started in September with a completion date on March - hopefully they mean March 2014

Pia

With that timeline, lets have 1500 people running over it during 8 Tuff Milesmin Feb 2014 ! That's really smart!

EagleRayLover wrote:With that timeline, lets have 1500 people running over it during 8 Tuff Milesmin Feb 2014 ! That's really smart!

I don't see how that would be a problem, honestly. It takes an awful lot of runners to weigh as much as a water truck. More importantly, the runners will be on the inner lane against the mountain which is undamaged. Actually, that's where traffic should be too, of course. The problem with traffic is the danger of two vehicles smacking into each other head-on where the road goes down to one lane. The one time that is NOT going to happen is when the road is closed for the race. So that may be the safest few hours on that road over the next 9 months.

lovest.john wrote:I've been looking at google maps. Couldn't you take North Shore Rd to Kings Hill Rd to get to Coral Bay? It's not the most direct but it looks like it would work. We will be there in August with our kids and would like to show them that side of the island.

No; King Hill is not an option. We've done it on foot from Love City Mini Mart to the Colombo stand many times, and there's no way you'd want to drive it. The Bordeaux Mountain Road would be a better choice if Centerline becomes impassible. Let's keep our fingers crossed that there won't be an unfortunate accident before it can get fixed.

Lovermont - they have graded King Hill but I'm not recommending it as the first bad rain will wash it out again (well that and I have not yet personally driven it since the grading so only going on other locals experiences - one mans grade is another mans goat trail lol)

Pia

It's well marked so you know in advance and wasn't a big deal to get around. We saw a few of the same on St. Thomas also.

When the NPS was paving North Shore a few years ago they had a temporary, portable, computer controlled stop light. Perhaps it could be used on Centerline until the repairs are complete. It was the automated equivalent of having 2 flag men and seemed to work well.

Some (hopefully) good news that arrived in my Inbox last evening from the Coral Bay Community Council:

CENTERLINE ROAD: The Federal Highway Administration is requiring PW to put in concrete barriers at the deteriorated spot and make other immediate repairs, which should begin tomorrow, Thursday. Let’s hope today’s (lovely!) rain does not interfere with that effort or make conditions worse. Actual permanent repairs should also begin on an emergency basis within the next month or so. Thank you to the people who are helping to push to get the local government to prioritize this expenditure and project.

If this starts TODAY that is terrific. Lets keep up the pressure (emails, calls) until the road is safe again!

Just the other day, my husband mentioned he saw a line for VI "highway" improvements in some budget item.

Being in the construction business, I an very curious how this will play out. Surely, it will be a prevailing wage job. Where I am at, prevailing wages start at $60 per hour for our industry. I would think road work would be comparable. Where do they get skilled labor? Are there local contractors or do they bring in companies and workers from the mainland?

(yes, I am a geek. We spent the first two hours of our honeymoon talking to the people at Penns about the price of building materials and have been known to crash construction sites (with permission) on vacation.)

Do the safari buses take Centerline?

We do not have a safari bus like STT but our (very large) bus does as do all taxis in and out of Coral Bay (our taxis look like the safari bus on STT) along with the water delivery trucks, cement trucks, school bus etc

Centerline Road is the (only) road in and out of Coral Bay unless you want to go over Bordeaux Mountain (long and bumpy and slow).

The locals sometimes refer to it as our "highway" meaning if you (as a tourist) want to stop and take a photo of every goat, sheep, donkey, cow you might experience along Centerline then get out of our way or at least let us pass as we have places to be, ferries to catch, work to get to etc and next time please take the "country" road - North Shore

Pia