Government House Communications Director Richard Motta Jr. acknowledged concerns about deteriorating or damaged roads during a press briefing on Monday and called road conditions a priority of the Bryan-Roach administration.
“We understand the frustration of navigating roads that seem long overdue for repair — it’s an issue that affects all of us, whether you’re commuting to work, taking your kids to school, or simply trying to get from one part of the island to the next.”
Motta said there are more than a dozen active projects addressing roads and underground infrastructure territory-wide. Those were stalled in recent weeks by days of heavy rainfall, which Motta said “compounded the problem.”
“Our teams are on the ground — working tirelessly — but the weather has created conditions that make certain work unsafe or impractical,” he said. “At the same, this record rainfall is washing out roadways and testing the structural integrity of retaining walls, bridges and drainage systems.”
The rain also brought grass and brush growth at “unprecedented rates,” Motta said, further straining government resources.
Unchecked vegetation was causing headaches with far-reaching consequences even before the latest bout of heavy rain. Tropical Storm Ernesto, which blew through the territory in mid-August before developing into a Category 1 hurricane, left downed trees, branches and piles of green waste in its wake. The debris hampered efforts by V.I. Water and Power Authority crews and contractors to restore power.
WAPA officials acknowledged in the storm’s aftermath that the lack of tree trimming hindered recovery work. Don Gregoire, WAPA territorial incident commander, said during an Aug. 19 press briefing that crews or contractors were hired to perform preventive vegetation management in previous years, but no funding was allocated for the purpose in this year’s budget.
“We’ve had a lot of trouble with bucket trucks and keeping the fleet up,” he said at the time.
WAPA Chief Executive Officer Karl Knight also acknowledged that the utility needed to do more preventive vegetation management, saying during an August governing board meeting that the utility needed “to find our way back to having dedicated tree trimming.”
Bryan requested an emergency declaration after the storm to access federal funds for the cash-strapped utility, which was already under a monthslong local state of emergency because of financial straits and deferred maintenance.
President Biden declared an emergency on Aug. 19. That declaration opened the door for relief from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which extended tax filing and payment deadlines for individuals and businesses affected by Ernesto from August to February 2025.
During a Sept. 3 Senate Budget, Appropriations and Finance Committee hearing, Finance Commissioner Kevin McCurdy said that extension — and ensuing delay of revenues — would strain the government’s General Fund to the point that Bryan renewed calls for the Legislature to authorize either extending an existing line of credit by $50 million or opening a new one to help the government meet obligations like vendor payments and tax refunds.
The 35th Legislature eventually loosened restrictions on the existing line of credit, freeing up $50 million to cover vendor payments — but the impact of the federal tax relief measures implemented after vegetative debris contributed to an emergency declaration is still being felt. Ordered by a federal judge last week to show proof that the territory has been paying the court-appointed monitor responsible for overseeing the territory’s prisons, the government attributed a delayed payment in part to the IRS filing extension.
