From left, Henry Bautista, Department of Public Works senior highway engineer, and Ray Yumul, DPW secretary.
Department of Public Works Secretary Ray Yumul and Senior Highway Engineer Henry Bautista provide updates regarding the Beach Road Improvement Project during a Saipan Chamber of Commerce meeting on Wednesday at Kensington.
Photos depict some of the challenges that the Department of Public Works has encountered on Beach Road as the improvement projects continue.
THE contractor for Phases 2-4 of the Beach Road Improvement Project expects 20-25% of its manpower to be affected by the “touchback” rule that requires CWs to leave the CNMI for “30 days” but could take up to seven months.
There are also challenges that could potentially delay the project, according to the Department of Public Works.
In a presentation Wednesday during the Saipan Chamber of Commerce meeting at Kensington Hotel, DPW Secretary Ray Yumul and DPW Senior Highway Engineer Henry Bautista provided updates on the ongoing Beach Road Improvement Project.
Bautista said the employees of the project contractor, GPPC Inc., are working weekends and holidays to mitigate the effects of the touchback provision.
“Phase 2’s contract completion is expected to be in January of 2024, but realistically we might have to give them a few extra months,” said Yumul. “Phases 3 and 4, which are just asphalting, [are] expected to be [completed by] December of this year.”
Phase 2 of the Beach Road Improvement Project begins at the Chalan Piao traffic light by Mobil Chalan Piao and extends north, ending at a short distance past the Beach Road-Chalan Monsignor Guerrero intersection.
Phase 2 improvements are extensive and include the installation of HDPE pipes; catch basin/drainage manhole excavation and construction work along with associated concrete placement; drainage excavation work; installation of infiltrator; roadway excavation; rotomilling work; roadway backfilling; and more.
Bautista said Phase 2 of the project costs $19.78 million and is funded by the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Phases 3 and 4 of the project begin at J’s Restaurant in San Jose and go all the way to the American Memorial Park intersection in Garapan.
Yumul said they will build a roundabout where the current three-way intersection is in Garapan as part of Phases 3 and 4 construction.
Yumul said touchback is not the only challenge that could delay the project.
“In totality, there’s other issues such as weather [and] discovery during the excavation process of CUC water, sewer [pipes] — those play a factor,” Yumul said.
“There’s a lot of utilities [infrastructure] that are still there that we do encounter,” Bautista said, citing abandoned brick manholes as an example.
He said “heavy rain” will also pause construction.
One other factor that could slow Phase 2 construction is the depth of excavation.
Yumul said the Phase 2 excavation will dig six feet or more into the ground, and could result in the uncovering of artifacts — including human remains — from the various historic eras of the Marianas.
Bautista said human remains have already been discovered along the route.
In regard to Phases 3 and 4, Yumul said excavation only goes about eight inches into the ground.
