MAY 15, 2023 Committee on disaster recovery & infrastructure PRESENTED BY: Derek Gabriel Commissioner Department of Public Works DPW.VI.GOV Committee on Disaster Recovery & Infrastructure | May 15, 2023 1 INTRODUCTION Good afternoon Senator Milton Potter, Chairperson of the Committee on Disaster Recovery and Infrastructure; Committee members; all other senators in attendance today; as well as those in the listening and viewing audience. I am Derek Gabriel, Commissioner of the Department of Public Works (DPW). With me today are Assistant Commissioner Rueben Jennings, Chief Engineer Tawana Nicholas, and Highway Program Manager Jomo McClean. Thank you for the opportunity to provide updates to this committee specifically on the department’s disaster recovery projects across the territory. Committee on Disaster Recovery & Infrastructure | May 15, 2023 2 FEMA-FUNDED PROJECTS The CIP and Local Engineering Division continues to manage our in-house FEMA projects, as well as contribute to the project management for other government agencies. The following highlights a few projects, but a full listing can be found in the appendix. DPW ANNA’S HOPE COMPOUND - STX Scope – Demolition and Rebuild This project is in the design phase and is 85% complete. The design is scheduled to be completed by July 2023. The relocation of staff to a temporary facility, in preparation for the rebuild, has been a priority. The design of the temporary facility is 90% complete, however we are still awaiting approval from FEMA on the temporary facility. The design of that facility is also scheduled to be completed by July 2023, with construction expected to commence in March 2024. FREDERIKSTED CONCORDIA OFFICE – STX Scope – Demolition and Rebuild The design for this project is 100% complete and will be submitted, in the coming months to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) for permitting and the Department of Property and Procurement (DPP) for solicitation. Due to a funding shortfall, DPW will supplement this project with local funds. The anticipated construction date is March 2024. Committee on Disaster Recovery & Infrastructure | May 15, 2023 3 KINGSHILL CHAPEL (DPW) – STX Scope – Repairs to damaged components of the chapel The design for this project is 100% complete and the project is now in the procurement phase. We anticipate construction will start by the end of 2023. KINGSHILL CEMETERY PARKING LOT PAVING – STX Scope – Parking Lot Reconstruction This project was completed in August 2022 at a cost of $630,124.50. The parking lot is now being used by the community. WILLIAMS DELIGHT - STX Scope – Road Reconstruction and Drainage Mitigation The design for this project is 100% complete. Some roads included in this project are currently under appeal with FEMA. Due to a severe funding shortfall caused by the areas under appeal, DPW is working on a plan to supplement this project with funding from other projects or to phase the project to allow for some road reconstruction and repairs to begin. Committee on Disaster Recovery & Infrastructure | May 15, 2023 4 MT. PLEASANT EAST ROAD REPAIRS - STX Scope – Road Reconstruction and Drainage Mitigation The design for this project is 100% complete and the final construction documents are now being reviewed. We expect to submit these documents to Property and Procurement for bid solicitation in June 2023. We anticipate construction will start by the end of 2023. FRENCHMAN’S BAY, BOTANY BAY, PERSEVERANCE BAY, AND RED HOOK BAY WATERSHED - STT Scope – Road reconstruction, Drainage Mitigation, Retaining Wall Construction, and Embankment Replacement Construction on this project started in July 2022 and is approximately 50% complete. Sites included in this project are Botany Bay 1 and 2, Frenchman’s Bay, and Cabrita Point. WATER ISLAND WATERSHED - STT Scope - Road Reconstruction and Drainage Mitigation Construction on this project began in September 2022 and is approximately 90% complete. We also expect this project to be completed by July 2023. Sites included in this project are Honeymoon Beach, Overdown Road, Flamingo Road, and Providence Hill. GREAT CRUZ BAY, FISH BAY, CORAL BAY, AND MAHO BAY WATERSHED - STJ Scope - Road Reconstruction and Drainage Mitigation Construction on this project started in June 2022 and is approximately 30% complete. There are a total of 13 sites for this project. Sites where construction has begun, are in Susannaberg, Pocket Money, Francis Bay Hill, Coral Bay, Adrian Hill, and Pastory. JERSEY BAY WATERSHED - STT Scope - Roadway Reconstruction, Drainage Mitigation, and Retaining Wall This project has been separated into three smaller projects - Purple Shop Roads, Mariendahl Wall, and Concrete Plant Roads. These projects are currently under design, FEMA review, and environmental review. We estimate construction will begin in 2024. Committee on Disaster Recovery & Infrastructure | May 15, 2023 5 DPW ST. JOHN MAINTENANCE BLDG Scope: Demolition and Rebuild The design for this project is 70% complete and is expected to be finalized by October 2023. We currently have an estimated construction start date of June 2024. For this project, DPW is also working on securing additional funding due to a shortfall. In addition to our DPW FEMA-funded projects, as the government’s engineering and project management arm, the department supports our sister agencies with their disaster recovery and capital improvement projects. Most of the workload currently managed by our local engineering and CIP staff is from other agencies. We work closely with the Office of Disaster Recovery to provide program and project management oversight to ensure projects are delivered efficiently and funds are spent correctly. We work closely with agencies such as the Department of Health; Sports, Parks & Recreation; Education; the Police Department; and Fire Services among others. Committee on Disaster Recovery & Infrastructure | May 15, 2023 6 FHWA EMERGENCY RELIEF (ER) PROJECTS The Office of Highway Engineering continues to manage FHWA Emergency Relief projects that resulted from the 2017 hurricanes. To date, DPW has received approximately $80 million dollars of FHWA – ER Funds and expended over $50 million of those funds. The remaining balance of the funds is for projects that are currently in construction throughout the territory. VI ST ER STX (003) This project, managed by Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD), is a Design- Build project which includes sixteen damaged sites throughout the island. Some sites include Midland Road Bridge, East Airport Road Bridge, Lagoon Bridge, Concordia Road, East End Road, and North Shore Road. Construction on four roadway sites is complete, and five culvert sites are currently under construction. The remaining three bridges and two culvert sites are in the final 100% design phase. CZM permits have been approved for those five sites. It is expected that all construction work on this project will be completed by December 2024 if there are no delays or setbacks. The final walkthrough for completed sites: Route 732 Windsor Rd, Route 763, Route 765 Rainforest Rd, and the end of Route 66 - Melvin Evans HWY intersection, was completed on March 7, 2023. A public informational meeting was held in April 2023 for the Altona Lagoon Bridge, and it is anticipated mobilization on that segment will begin this summer. PERMANENT TRAFFIC SIGNS - STX This project is slated to install new traffic and regulatory signs throughout the island of St. Croix. The selected contractor, Celestine Construction, has installed new signage throughout the island and remains at 75% complete. The contractor is in the process of ordering additional signs, including street name signs, for several federal routes. There have been numerous delays due to supply chain issues and contractual issues. A shipment Committee on Disaster Recovery & Infrastructure | May 15, 2023 7 of signs has been received; however, the contractor is awaiting the delivery of signposts. A supplemental contract is currently being processed for this project. VI ST ER STT (004) Managed by Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD), this was a Design-Build project which included thirteen damaged sites throughout St. Thomas. All sites in St. Thomas are complete and final inspections were performed in April 2023. Some of the sites included Route 335 (Upper Lindbergh Bay), Route 30 (Black Point Hill), Route 333 (in the vicinity of Dorothea Fire Station), Route 42 – Mandahl Road, Route 33 -Shibui, Route 334 (Upper Crown Mountain), Route 37 - Hull Bay and Route 38 (Weymouth Rhymer Highway). PERMANENT TRAFFIC SIGNS - STT/STJ This project aimed to install new traffic signs throughout the district of St. Thomas/St. John. The selected contractor, Custom Builders, has completed the installation of all new signage throughout the island district. Substantial completion has been issued by DPW and the project is in the closeout phase. VI ST ER STJ (002) This project, which was managed by EFLHD, is complete and final inspections were performed in April 2023. It included five damaged sites throughout St. John - Route 104 (near Starfish Market), Route 107 (Coral Bay), Route 108 (Bordeaux Mountain Road), and Route 1041 (Fish Bay). Thank you for the opportunity to give an update today. My team and I are ready to answer any questions you may have.