The National Park Service (NPS) has proposed to replace 700 linear feet of the existing wharf bulkhead along the Christiansted National Historic Site waterfront, and it is inviting the public to comment on the proposal. The existing wharf bulkhead, which was last refurbished in 1985 with a life cycle of 25 years, is now 35 years old and in poor condition, NPS said. The bulkhead is no longer able to protect the historic waterfront from wind-driven wave action and storm damage. Due to the condition of the wharf bulkhead, NPS has closed the wharf to all marine traffic, according to the release.
The proposed action would replace the existing bulkhead with approximately 500 linear feet of the new steel sheet pile and 200 linear feet of new cast-in-place reinforced concrete gravity wall, extend the existing decking on the western end of the bulkhead to be flush with the new concrete cap, and rehabilitate the existing concrete apron, NPS said.
New mooring cleats and marine fenders would be installed for vessel use. Prior to construction, NPS would remove and relocate live corals colonizing the existing bulkhead deteriorated sheet pile and within corals located within 15 feet the adjacent marine bottomlands. NPS is coordinating with territorial conservation agencies to identify the most appropriate site for the relocated colonies; preliminarily the site will most likely be along the Christiansted Harbor’ Long Reef area. Replacement of the wharf bulkhead would provide opportunities to restore or enhance access to the waterfront site from both land and water. The new bulkhead designed would adapt to anticipated future storm events with potentially greater storm intensities and would thus protect the waterfront from the effects of storm events.
The NPS will be hosting an open-house style public meeting to discuss this project. This meeting will take place on June 18, 2019 from 5:00 pm to7:00 pm at the Christiansted NHS, Guinea Company Warehouse (Old Post Office Building), first floor at 2100 Church Street #100, Christiansted, Virgin Islands, 00820. For more information, please contact the park at 340-773-1460, M-F, 8am to 4 pm. The opportunity to provide public comment on this project is open beginning June 1, 2019 and will close June 30, 2019. You may download a copy of the environmental assessment, which describes the project, and submit electronic comments through the park’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/CHRI.
NPS said before including an address, phone number, email address or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment including your personal identifying information may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
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