It took Arnold Palacios and David Apatang nine months to complete a road their predecessors could not build in the nearly 20 years since it was funded.
On Tuesday the governor and the lieutenant governor, along with others cut the ribbon, opening a 1.67 mile expanse of East Coast Highway Phase 2, which connects the area past the entrance of Kingfisher Golf Resort to the intersection of Chalan Matuis.
With Phase 2 complete, the CNMI Department of Public Works, under the leadership of Ray Yumul, now begins Phase 1. That road expansion project will finish East Coast Highway through the Bird Island Lookout. It will cover a 2-mile stretch.
The road pavement program started in 2004, when Congress appropriated $12 million for the project. A four-year consultation for compliance with the Endangered Species Act then ensued, followed by a seven-year long environmental assessment. The engineering design for the roadway began in 2011 and ended six years later. The procurement process began in 2017.
A notice to proceed was issued by the Torres administration in May 2021. The local government granted several time extensions for completion.
The development was funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
According to Mr. Yumul, the upcoming expansion connection project will begin in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2024, which begins in just a few days.
Mr. Palacios, in a major economic reform for the CNMI, has said he is pivoting from reliance on Chinese investments and looking to federal support and military investment to bring much-needed cash and economic activity to the islands.
