April 23, 2001 — With just a month before the start of hurricane season, a Water and Power Authority project to benefit critical facilities on St. Croix is almost complete.
Last year, WAPA began the $14-million project, aimed at placing key electrical feeders and lines below ground. The move is to facilitate the restoration of service to the territory’s hospitals and airports following a hurricane or other disaster.
This week, as part of the project, a WAPA contractor will begin pulling high-voltage cables through the duct bank systems of Feeders 4 and 8, according to Laurie Christian, WAPA spokeswoman. The duct banks were placed underground last year.
Feeder 4 runs from WAPA’s Richmond Power Plant to the Juan F. Luis Hospital. Feeder 8 runs from the plant to the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport.
The project, 90 percent funded under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's hazard-mitigation program, is scheduled to be complete by June 30.
In the meantime, Christian advised drivers to use alternate routes to bypass the Five Corners and Rattan Hills areas between the hours of 6 p.m. and 4 a.m.
