THE $12 million Route 36 Windward/Chalan Kalabera road improvement project is 35% complete, the Torres administration said on Monday.
The project, which aims to create an around-the-island loop on Saipan, includes improvements to Chalan Windward and crossings at Unai Fanhang and Unai Nanasu.
Since the groundbreaking ceremony in June 2021, the construction and engineering firms responsible for the project have made headway.
RNV Construction is the contractor for the project; GHD Inc., the construction manager; and DCA Inc., the design consultant.
Officials said the project has been in the works for roughly two decades, but barriers and environmental compliance issues have caused much delay.
According to a report on Monday from the CNMI Highway Task Force chaired by Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, two box culverts have been stabilized and concrete footing was poured.
Moreover, the road construction base preparation and the drainage installation in the San Juan area are in progress.
The issues with environmental compliance have been addressed, with the delay noted and approved for a total of 95 calendar days.
However, the task force is seeking an extension to the 95-calendar-day timeframe.
The revised completion date, factoring in unforeseen delays, is currently Aug. 26, 2022.
At the time of the project’s groundbreaking, the anticipated project completion date was May 23, 2022.
The Chalan Windward improvements will include a 40-foot-wide right-of-way, construction of two 11.6-foot-wide travel lanes, and the construction of a 4.5-foot-wide paved road shoulder and bike lane on both sides of the road.
The Unai Fanhang and Unai Nanasu crossings include the construction of 11.6-foot-wide travel lanes, a 4.5-foot-wide paved road shoulder and bike lane on both sides of the road, and two concrete box culverts with wing wall or retaining walls at openings with concrete energy dissipator at downstream openings.
At Unai Fanhang, or Box Culvert 1, a single-cell reinforced concrete box culvert with mechanically stabilized earth walls will be constructed.
The culvert will span 114 feet across the length of the steam, 16 feet wide and 8 feet high.
A similar culvert is being constructed at Unai Nanasu. It has been named Box Culvert 2, and will be 116 feet across.
RNV Construction Manager Moises Tagle Jr. said the box culverts, which convey water from one side of a roadway or similar traffic embankment to the other, are anticipated to be completed by June 2022.
On Monday, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres discussed with the construction and engineering firms the inclusion of parking space for individuals seeking access to neighboring beaches, such as Hidden Beach.
This project includes a T-way with one road leading to As Matuis and the other leading toward the direction of Bird Island, he said.
Progress
Accompanied by his media team and Department of Public Works Secretary James Ada, Torres on Monday led a tour of the progress made thus far on Route 36, and met with RNV Construction and GHD Inc. staff on-site.
Not invited
For his part, Lt. Gov. Palacios held a meeting in his office on Capital Hill with the Highway Task Force to discuss updates on the various CNMI infrastructure projects, including the Route 36 improvement project.
The task force members include DPW highway engineer Isagani Salazar and Elizabeth Salas Balajadia, P.E. who serves as the CNMI’s Capital Improvement Project administrator with the executive branch.
Palacios said he was not invited to the tour led by Torres. The two are running for governor in November.
“It’s okay with me,” Palacios said. “The governor can take all of the glory…. A lot of things have happened politically [since the groundbreaking ceremony of this project], but at the end of the day, I think that people know that the [Highway] Task Force was basically the driving force to getting all of these things done. Historically, I’m very, very glad that our team is a working team,” he added.
“I know what I did… I think people will understand that I don’t need to glorify myself to go out on a tour. I’ll do that when everything is done. I just hope that I’m invited to the ribbon cutting,” Palacios said with a chuckle.
He said he appreciates the combined efforts of all entities involved with the project, from jotting ideas down on paper to making them a reality.
“I don’t know who is handling this tour, but to be clear, this is the team that got that project moving,” he reiterated, referring to the Highway Task Force.
He also noted that the late U.S. Congressman Don Young of Alaska played a key role in the appropriation of federal funds for this project when former Gov. Juan N. Babauta was the CNMI’s resident representative in Washington D.C. in the 1990s.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, third left, poses for a photo with DPW Secretary James Ada, second left, and representatives of RNV Construction and GHD Inc.
RNV Construction manager Moises Tagle Jr. explains the plans for the project.
Box Culvert 1 at Unai Fanhang.
Box culvert 2 at Unai Nanasu.
The T-Way leading to Bird Island on the left and to Hidden Beach on the right.
The road leading to the construction work is closed to the public.
