News Release

Christiansted National Historic Site Wharf Bulkhead Replacement

Date: March 6, 2018
Contact: Zandy Hillis-Starr, [phone]

The Christiansted National Historic Site will be replacing the Wharf Bulkhead along the harbor front of the Historic Site. Engineering and design phase to determine the appropriate materials, skirting and bulkhead construction method is underway. The project will replace the existing bulkhead structure and provide a newly constructed bulkhead for waterfront access, increased storm protection and emergency vessel response access.

The Project will be conducted in the series of phases; the park is now in the planning phase. A series of nine (9) boring sample will be drilled to assess geotechnical feasibility, to occur for two weeks beginning March 12, 2018. Operations will require a drilling rig on site to operate from the hours of 7am to 4pm, Monday through Friday. Drilling operations will produce noise and require closing off small portions of the park grounds. Access to the parking lot should not be affected, and there are no anticipated effects to historic structures. A map showing the locations of the proposed boring sites is available upon request.

The anticipated schedule for this project is:

• Design Completion (approved drawings): 05/31/2019
• Construction Contract Award: 09/15/2019
• Construction Start (actual on-site mobilization and start of work): 10/15/2019
• Construction Completion: 04/15/2020 (this is based only on a very rough estimate of a 6-month construction duration; this could change significantly depending on site condition).

During the construction phase, potential impacts to the Christiansted community will be minimalized as much as possible, but may effects to wharf area events, and to the traffic turnaround by King Christian Hotel.