Bypass or tunneling to China

Talked to a guy who said a whole side collapsed and since it's been so rainy they just gave up for a while.
Notice, there's no big dump truck traffic like before. I hope they don't abandon it. And I hope this guy didn't know what he was talking about. Does look like things have came to a halt.

A huge section did collapse - it started before the rain and just accelerated with all the rain. You can see part of it from the main road. I "heard" that they don't know if they can fix it at all. Let's hope we are not stuck with such a blight on the landscape and a waste of 20 million!

I like to know the engineer master mind behind is mess & advoid them @ all cost.......incase they cut my driveway in, collaspe it & just walk away w/more money in hand, job left undone & I'm stuck with a chunk of ugly unrepairable earth!

And all St. Thomas has is a bridge to nowhere. We really are the big island!

We could have a BIGGER bridge to nowhere Juanita!!!! YaY

The one on STT is so small, this one costs more AND has a really big hole in the mountain!!! haha 😉

They should just get it over with and start laying down rails for solar panels with all that extra space 🙂

I hear that the contract said the "rotten rock" may become unstable after digging and that extra funds may be required to "anchor" the sides. That has become the case and the federal oversight is looking into it. Before they award the paving contract they need to stabilize the dig. Could be awhile before we see more progress. It took 4 years to build a "bridge over no water" in Mon Bijou. The Makinaw bridge was built in less time with freezing weather, deep water with currents, spinning the cables for suspension etc...........
I wouldn't hold your breathe.

Maybe the suppliers kept getting lost. trying to deliver materials to a place over water? :@)

Any photos on this "work"?

Unbelievable...ok, maybe quite believable.

Sean

The Mon Bijou bridge was part of a huge flooding problem in Mon Bijou. And I've seen that whole ditch full to the edges with water. However it did take an aqfully long time.

This thread made me laugh =)

Here is a little known fact: during the creation of the extension to the runway at the airport, during the 80s, the biggest dump truck on the island was miss handled and dropped into the bay.

When you land at STT, you are landing on a dump truck =)

P.S. I know this because the dump truck belonged to my best friends father's concrete company. Mr. Capozzoli rules!

It may flood under the bridge but water did not slow the construction. They were working in a dry ditch. I've seen bridges this size built in the states in weeks. We're talking 4 years. I realize they couldn't use pre-cast but I passed everyday and saw the progress. Painfully SLOW!!! Sure is nice now though! Gotta love progress. LOL

I talked to the state side engineer who ran the bridge project and he said he would never work in STX ever again. He also told me that the by pass excavation project contract was split in two, one company from east to west and the other west to east. The excavation contracts were very close to completion when the slides began to occur. Removing the rubble is an extra. A geological engineer is assess the situation and make recommendations.

We're thinking about staying in the Herman Hill area for vacation in late October. Are they doing any work on the 'scar' or has it all stopped for awhile? We've just gone through two hurricane evacuations, hubby is covering his job and another man's (who had 2 ft of water in his home), and our son announced they are expecting twins next May :-o(our normal vacation time)and they'll need my help . We need a VACATION! We don't want to stay in that area if there's alot of dust coming up from the dump trucks. When we were there in May the dump trucks were everywhere and we were amazed at how much work they were able to do in four weeks. We don't want to get down there and they start that back up! (if it is a problem) Thank you very much for any help on this.

Paula

Paula.............currently it's DEAD!!! Keep checking as the month progresses.

There is work being done on both ends. They are not hauling rock at the present time.

Jim

Gee.... I hate to hesitate too long on finding a place to stay. We're leaving in less than 3 weeks now and I want to make sure it's nice and quiet. I really wanted to stay in the Hermann Hill area since we've stayed there before and really liked it, but I hate to take a chance that they won't start up the work again. We've also stayed out east and it's been quiet, so maybe that's the way to go this year and not take a chance. Thank you very much!

Paula

Paula,
Just come on down for what sounds like a much-needed R&R. It's still been raining on and off in the area so I also havn't seen the dump truck traffic. If you have any doubts tho'...(don't know how long your stay is)...maybe look into both? Meaning, part-time out east with room for Herman Hill or visa-versa? Chin up! Just get here and breath some island air before you have to get back to "real life".;)

There was an article in the STX Source on Thursday or Friday.

According to the article the project is on time and under budget.

They were aware of the rock conditions including the rotten rock prior to construction starting. The rock slide happened before the big rains. It was a result of an unpredictable unstable interface between two layers of rock.

The Feds will supply the funds to correct the problem. Meanwhile work continues on other sections of the project.

Jim

Well Paula, guess you should just come over to the east side & hang! No construction, no chickens...........no problems! Well there is the occassional dog barking, but NO CHICKENS!!!

Islandtyme,

We're heading down that way on the 24th! We're staying out on the east end after all. Hubby is STRESSED from hurricane running and work. I think he'd have been willing to pitch a tent on a beach... as long as it was peaceful and quiet! We can't wait.:D

Paula

As I came by yesterday, there was a dump truck full of rock leaving the site, on the Richmond end.

Looks like paving is begining at one end of this!!
Cornfused tho about the big hole & the falling rocks............are they just filling it back up and with "loose" dirt ?????
Now it looks like a giant taco shell w/beef filling.......lol
Been getting lots of rain...............mudslides anyone?

Are there any updated photos of the "big dig"? When I left island it was about 2 months into it. Rumor had it, that it would be finished within 1.5 years. Silly rabbits, tricks are for kids