THE Department of Public Works on Wednesday presented to the members of the House of Representatives the highway and road projects that are funded by the federal and CNMI governments.
In a progress report, DPW Technical Services Division Director Anthony Camacho showed the lawmakers the list of priority projects funded by the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The federally funded road and highway projects will cost $46.8 million, Camacho said.
He also presented the list of roads and highway projects funded by the CNMI government amounting to $1.7 million.
DPW Secretary James Ada and the department’s other key officials presented the roads and highway projects during a meeting with the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications chaired by Rep. Richard Lizama.
Also attending the meeting were the committee vice chairman, Rep. Donald Manglona, and members, Reps. Ivan Blanco, Vicente Camacho, Denita Yangetmai, Leila Staffler and Joel Camacho.
Aside from Ada and Anthony Camacho the other DPW officials present in the meeting were Highway Administrator Lorraine Villagomez, Roads and Grounds Director Mike Borja, highway engineer Henry Bautista and building safety officer Isagani Salazar.
They updated the committee on the various road repair and improvement, and new highway projects on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
DPW informed lawmakers that funding from the Federal Highway Administration alone totals $41.1 million.
The CDBG’s Disaster Relief funding for Beach Road pavement repair and overlay, and the Chillis St. drainage improvement projects totals $5.6 million.
As for the CNMI government, DPW said it has $1.7 million in local revenue that has been appropriated for road projects since 2018.
“On behalf of DPW, I would like to thank the Federal Highway Administration, the offices of the governor and the lieutenant governor, the Legislature and also to the people for their patience,” Ada said.
He likewise thanked HUD for disaster relief funding and the Department of the Interior which co-shared with the Federal Highway Administration the funding for the improvement of Beach Road from Chalan Piao to the Atkins Kroll intersection.
Ada noted that the funding from the financially strapped CNMI government “is not that much” compared to the amount provided by the federal government.
But he recognizes that the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation members are doing their best to appropriate available funds for the secondary roads in the villages.
Department of Public Works Secretary James Ada, center, and other DPW officials meet with the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications on Wednesday in the House chamber.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
