The Road to the Christiansted Bypass
In a letter dated February 24, 1975, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to John E. Harding, Commissioner, Virgin Islands Department of Public Works: “We have examined the support purpose for the construction of a By-Pass on the South side of Christiansted, St. Croix, and found that the same does not affect, duplicate or overlapping HUD- sponsored projects in the area. Since the project will be located for the most part in land undeveloped at present, it will not affect the existing urban structure of Christiansted. As claimed in the proposal, it will help in correcting the traffic congestion of the downtown area by offering various accesses to that area in addition to the present one…We have no other comments to offer.”
In May of 2007, under the Gov. John de Jongh Jr. administration, joined by federal and Territorial government officials, ground was finally broken on the much-talked about, much-joked about, long-awaited, very much anticipated, Christiansted Bypass on St. Croix.
We have all no doubt heard the lines spoken in countless Hollywood movies, when the hero rushes in to rescue the heroine at the very last moment: “What took you so long?” She asks him. “Traffic was a mess.” He replies.
And all our heroine can say, when you drive down that smooth, elevated highway, when you glance out at the beauty of Christiansted Harbor and Gallows Bay Harbor, when you think of all the political wrangling, the planning, the unbelievably arduous work that involved no less than moving small mountains, you can almost feel the resiliency of a people who have fought off the worst of hurricanes, the horrors of a pandemic; a people who know all too well, it’s not how many times they knock you down that counts, it’s how many times you get back up that counts. When you think of all that was involved by this gargantuan construction effort, there can be no other reply by our heroine than: “It was well worth the wait!”
Nothing can make you feel more proud of being a Crucian than to stand at the “Lookout” and see the greatness of St. Croix before you. The past may come rushing into your mind, along with the challenges of the present and a glimmer of hope for a bright future. If you’re lucky enough to be looking out from November through early May, when the World Ocean School’s historic schooner Roseway (circa 1925) is parked in the Harbor, well, you might just get your breath swept away, under its sails, by the splendor of a grand ship that mirrors the soul of an island that knows nothing less than picking itself up from a knock down and standing tall to fight again.
“There were a number of reasons the project was delayed for three decades,” Deputy Public Works Commissioner Aloy “Wenty” Nielsen stated, of which the Bypass has recently been named in his honor: Aloy “Wenty” Nielsen Bypass. “We had a great deal of difficulty with appraisals. We had to struggle getting the proper ownership and boundaries of the land. We could only use certified appraisers, and they were not easy to come by. Many of the land boundary and ownership records went back to inaccurate old Danish records, so there were delays resolving property boundary issues,” Nielsen recalled. “We filed condemnation on some of the properties. We needed the Coastal Zone Management Board (CZM) to file a federal consistency determination, even though the project was not in the Coastal Tier 1 Zone.”
“It took 37 years and $37 million,” said Public Works Commissioner Daryl Smalls, as the ribbon was cut on that historic day in January 2013.
Gov. de Jongh said the Bypass was conceived under Gov. Melvin Evans’ administration and went through five administrations before arriving on his desk.
“Today, we sit here on a project that clearly had momentum,” Gov. de Jongh said. “It had disagreement, and in many cases controversy. Clearly we as a people understand that commitment is what really makes projects that are necessary come to fruition. It is a continuation of a vision with people that are behind you that makes the difference,” he concluded.
When the work was finally completed, when the brave workers and heavy equipment had finished plowing through a mountain and laying down the 1.2-mile, two-lane highway along with sidewalks and curbs; after they had completed the largest public works project in the history of the Virgin Islands, Smalls proclaimed: “It is truly with a great deal of pride that I stand before you to witness the official opening of the Christiansted Bypass. Please do enjoy the breathtaking view of downtown Christiansted and the Christiansted Harbor, utilize the sidewalks along the roadway for physical fitness,” he declared. “But mor importantly, let’s all take pride in this new roadway for both our residents and tourists to admire.”
Although there is still a good deal of controversy that swirls around the benefits of the Bypass, it is easy to see why many feel it is ground zero on St. Croix. There is probably no other public spot on the Big Island that mirrors the struggle and ultimate victory of our people as the Christiansted Bypass.
So sit back, pack a lunch, a snack, hoist a glass, enjoy the remarkable view from the Lookout. Because you can travel twice around the globe and it’s unlikely you will find any view that is finer.
