IMPLEMENTING road projects is a good start to revive the local economy, Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios said.
In an interview, he said he is optimistic about the various highway and road projects that are finally “moving” after many years of delay.
“We can do these things. We really can. I was just amazed and sometimes frustrated why these road projects were not moving,” said Palacios who heads the CNMI Highway Task Force, which was formed to oversee highway and road projects in the Commonwealth.
In Oleai, for example, he said a long-standing problem of residents there are the flooded roads, including the one near San Jose Church. “That has been a perennial issue for our parishioners and the people living in the area. The flooding is horrendous,” he said.
But today, Palacios said he is very happy to acknowledge and commend the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. for identifying and securing Community Development Block Grant funding for the repair of Oleai roads.
He also recognized the collaborative efforts of the Department of Public Works and the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. to get the project started.
Palacios recently announced that the CNMI is now proceeding with an “invitation to bid” for the upgrade of Beach Road (Phase II) from As Perdido to Oleai, adding that the project will most likely begin in late December or January 2022.
The upgrade of Airport Road, he added, has been completed, and the Cross Island Road project in Talofofo is ongoing.
“I think, and everybody knows, that our main thoroughfares are in bad shape, but it is just a matter of prioritizing projects,” he said.
One of the causes of delay, he added, was the practice of “short funding” certain road projects while “overfunding others.”
“So we established the task force to look at what needs to get done in order to move these things forward, and how to address the issues that delay the projects,” Palacios said. “At the end of the day, we decided that we need to make these improvements. It does not matter how it is done, we just have to agree on the priorities.”
Now, he added, many highway and road projects are moving forward.
“Whether we complete them in a year or longer, the fact that we are on our way is a good start,” Palacios said.
Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, second left, his wife, Wella, Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, right, and their campaign committee chairman, former Speaker Oscar M. Babauta, wave at motorists prior to the announcement of the AD 2022 ticket at the Minatchom Atdao pavilion on Oct. 21, 2021.
