PNC :: Cruz and Perez Debate Viability of Road To Finegayan
Friday, 5 February 2010
Guam - Vice-Speaker Senator BJ Cruz is still concerned about a proposed road that will run from Marine Drive to South Finegayan.
The senator has been critical of the plan to build this road that is shown on some maps as a miltary only road. While Cruz initially thought that the road was not present in the military's Draft EIS he has found that it is. What is of more concern to him however is that the road will run directly through prime real estate that local landowners have been trying to develop for tourism. The senator says that as the chairman of tourism he is trying to protect some expensive land in the Dos Amantes or Two Lover's point area that is ideal for developing resorts.
Cruz is concerned that the road will cut right through the most desireable part of the land. Department of Public Works Director Larry Perez however says that the road will work within the land use plan of the Dos Amantes or two lovers point area. He says that the road they will build will actually help landwoners by providing access to their properties.
Perez also stresses that this is still just a proposed option of DOD and many changes can happen to it between now and it's actual construction. In addition to this Perez says that because it will be paid for by federal dollars it must be accessible to the local community as per federal guidelines. As for the map that lists it as a military road, Perez says the map is only reffering to a part of the road that runs through military property.
Written by : Clynt Ridgell
Showing posts with label Road. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Road. Show all posts
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Perez amends previous statement on road project
Perez amends previous statement on road project
Thursday, 04 February 2010 02:43
by Zita Y. Taitano | Variety News Staff
VICE speaker B.J. Cruz asked public works director Larry Perez to explain why the Department of Public Works’ plan to connect Marine Corps Drive to South Finegayan is not included in the 2030 Guam Transportation Plan.
Cruz, in a letter to the outgoing director, recalled that the plan for the construction of a new roadway from the intersection of Marine Corps Drive and Harmon Road to the Finegayan area was mentioned during last week’s hearing on the draft environmental impact statement.
At the hearing, Perez indicated that the project was in the draft study but not in the transportation plan, leaving Cruz curious.
“I am concerned over both the process that led to the proposal for this new road and the impact that construction of the road would have on the surrounding environment and the affected landowners,” the vice speaker stated in the letter.
Perez responded by saying, “although I inadvertently, mistakenly made the statement last meeting, and I stand corrected.
He added, “it was established there for purposes of creating new roads to minimize congestion on roadways to the entire community.”
Perez further explained that the road connection is not intended to for military use but is being created to address road congestion on Guam.
He also said DPW is actively collaborating with the military on development and construction projects to include mitigation and estimated costs of payment by the military.
“It is one of many projects needed for obviating and mitigating the transportation impact of our transportation network,” Perez said. “Everything that’s in the 2030 master plan is related in the buildup and those that are in the [draft impact study] are paid for by the military.”
Thursday, 04 February 2010 02:43
by Zita Y. Taitano | Variety News Staff
VICE speaker B.J. Cruz asked public works director Larry Perez to explain why the Department of Public Works’ plan to connect Marine Corps Drive to South Finegayan is not included in the 2030 Guam Transportation Plan.
Cruz, in a letter to the outgoing director, recalled that the plan for the construction of a new roadway from the intersection of Marine Corps Drive and Harmon Road to the Finegayan area was mentioned during last week’s hearing on the draft environmental impact statement.
At the hearing, Perez indicated that the project was in the draft study but not in the transportation plan, leaving Cruz curious.
“I am concerned over both the process that led to the proposal for this new road and the impact that construction of the road would have on the surrounding environment and the affected landowners,” the vice speaker stated in the letter.
Perez responded by saying, “although I inadvertently, mistakenly made the statement last meeting, and I stand corrected.
He added, “it was established there for purposes of creating new roads to minimize congestion on roadways to the entire community.”
Perez further explained that the road connection is not intended to for military use but is being created to address road congestion on Guam.
He also said DPW is actively collaborating with the military on development and construction projects to include mitigation and estimated costs of payment by the military.
“It is one of many projects needed for obviating and mitigating the transportation impact of our transportation network,” Perez said. “Everything that’s in the 2030 master plan is related in the buildup and those that are in the [draft impact study] are paid for by the military.”
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Guam road construction to increase
Guam road construction to increase
Posted: Jan 28, 2010 4:59 PM
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 4:59 PM
by Janjeera Hail
*DPW road construction schedule
http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/kuam/custom/news/ConstALERT_01.28.10.pdf
Guam - Expect more delay when it comes to traffic on Guam's roadways. Department of Public Works Director Larry Perez says with the agency advertising approximately $20,000,000 worth of projects per quarter, he says residents will see road construction increase. Contractors are working on pavement markings, signage, widening and resurfacing in all areas on island.
"The Route 4/Route 10 intersection," described Perez, "we have pavement markings happening down south happening on Marine Corps Drive. We're going to be doing resurfacing on Route 14, Chalan San Antonio. Reconstruction on Route 25. There will be an intersection near the Las Palmas area."
Perez warns residents to drive cautiously and safely through the roadways during the daytime.
Posted: Jan 28, 2010 4:59 PM
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 4:59 PM
by Janjeera Hail
*DPW road construction schedule
http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/kuam/custom/news/ConstALERT_01.28.10.pdf
Guam - Expect more delay when it comes to traffic on Guam's roadways. Department of Public Works Director Larry Perez says with the agency advertising approximately $20,000,000 worth of projects per quarter, he says residents will see road construction increase. Contractors are working on pavement markings, signage, widening and resurfacing in all areas on island.
"The Route 4/Route 10 intersection," described Perez, "we have pavement markings happening down south happening on Marine Corps Drive. We're going to be doing resurfacing on Route 14, Chalan San Antonio. Reconstruction on Route 25. There will be an intersection near the Las Palmas area."
Perez warns residents to drive cautiously and safely through the roadways during the daytime.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Legislature continues DEIS hearings
Guam road construction to increase
Posted: Jan 25, 2010 9:02 PM PST
by Janjeera Hail
Guam - Expect more delay when it comes to traffic on Guam's roadways. Department of Public Works Director Larry Perez says with the agency advertising approximately $20,000,000 worth of projects per quarter, he says residents will see road construction increase. Contractors are working on pavement markings, signage, widening and resurfacing in all areas on island.
"The Route 4/Route 10 intersection," described Perez, "we have pavement markings happening down south happening on Marine Corps Drive. We're going to be doing resurfacing on Route 14, Chalan San Antonio. Reconstruction on Route 25. There will be an intersection near the Las Palmas area."
Perez warns residents to drive cautiously and safely through the roadways during the daytime.
Posted: Jan 25, 2010 9:02 PM PST
by Janjeera Hail
Guam - Expect more delay when it comes to traffic on Guam's roadways. Department of Public Works Director Larry Perez says with the agency advertising approximately $20,000,000 worth of projects per quarter, he says residents will see road construction increase. Contractors are working on pavement markings, signage, widening and resurfacing in all areas on island.
"The Route 4/Route 10 intersection," described Perez, "we have pavement markings happening down south happening on Marine Corps Drive. We're going to be doing resurfacing on Route 14, Chalan San Antonio. Reconstruction on Route 25. There will be an intersection near the Las Palmas area."
Perez warns residents to drive cautiously and safely through the roadways during the daytime.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
‘Off-base projects not likely to damage soils’
‘Off-base projects not likely to damage soils’
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 01:39
by Jude Lizama | Variety News Staff
OFF-base roadway improvement projects related to the military buildup have possible but less than significant effects on the alteration or disturbance of the island’s topography and soils, according to the draft environmental impact study.
If conducted, road construction activities would most likely consist of new road construction, intersection improvements, road widening, bridge replacements, road relocation and pavement strengthening.
A particular project that could potentially deal with the realignment of Route 15 for the purpose of creating adequate military firing ranges would result in the construction of new asphalt pavement for realignment, creation of an unpaved median to provide for future road widening, bicycle accommodations on the road shoulders, connection to existing roadways and access roads, pavement striping, signing, installation of property fences and guardrails and construction of a new bridge.
Related projects would require more significant effects on soil and topography include possible building removal, utility relocation and realignment into previously undisturbed soils to accommodate roadway design.
While potential impacts to soils and geological resources such as cut and fill operations may occur, the study also cited possible indirect impacts can result after project completion to include increased erosion, geologic hazards, or leaching of contaminants into soils.
While areas of high liquefaction potential and those near karst geological formations closest to sinkholes or caves have been identified by the study as regions that pose heightened vulnerability of geological resource disturbance, they were heavily identified and considered within the EIS.
Additionally, the study indicates that “the potential vulnerability to effects from seismic activity is consistent throughout the island because of the presence of known and inferred earthquake faults that transect Guam.”
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 01:39
by Jude Lizama | Variety News Staff
OFF-base roadway improvement projects related to the military buildup have possible but less than significant effects on the alteration or disturbance of the island’s topography and soils, according to the draft environmental impact study.
If conducted, road construction activities would most likely consist of new road construction, intersection improvements, road widening, bridge replacements, road relocation and pavement strengthening.
A particular project that could potentially deal with the realignment of Route 15 for the purpose of creating adequate military firing ranges would result in the construction of new asphalt pavement for realignment, creation of an unpaved median to provide for future road widening, bicycle accommodations on the road shoulders, connection to existing roadways and access roads, pavement striping, signing, installation of property fences and guardrails and construction of a new bridge.
Related projects would require more significant effects on soil and topography include possible building removal, utility relocation and realignment into previously undisturbed soils to accommodate roadway design.
While potential impacts to soils and geological resources such as cut and fill operations may occur, the study also cited possible indirect impacts can result after project completion to include increased erosion, geologic hazards, or leaching of contaminants into soils.
While areas of high liquefaction potential and those near karst geological formations closest to sinkholes or caves have been identified by the study as regions that pose heightened vulnerability of geological resource disturbance, they were heavily identified and considered within the EIS.
Additionally, the study indicates that “the potential vulnerability to effects from seismic activity is consistent throughout the island because of the presence of known and inferred earthquake faults that transect Guam.”
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Guam's Billion Dollar Road
$1.25B road project detailed
Proposed highway would cut through Manengon
By Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News
gdumat-ol@guampdn.com
May 31, 2007
Guam's future billion-dollar highway, which is a piece of the military buildup puzzle, likely will run across largely undeveloped hills and valleys of Chalan Pago, Yona and Piti, according to a tentative map from the Navy.
If the idea evolves into an adopted plan, the highway would start near the point where Routes 10 and 4 meet in Chalan Pago, according to a Department of the Navy Guam planning document, which was still at an early stage and was labeled "notional."
The $1.25 billion highway would provide the military with an alternative access that links Andersen Air Force Base in northern Guam and the Navy base on the southern side of the island.
The Air Force and Navy bases use Marine Corps Drive for a main link, but the road has had a history of gridlock during serious accidents.
In May 2006, Air Force Lt. Gen. Daniel Leaf, deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said in an interview that when the island's military population grows significantly, the highway would be needed to "move both people, supplies and equipment from north to south, south to north on the island, whether it's for training or to deploy out of the harbor."
"And we want to do that with minimal impact on the community and expeditiously. The current road structure doesn't really allow for that very well. So that's an area we believe we'll have to invest in," Leaf said.
The largest chunk of the $15 billion military buildup on Guam involves building housing, training and other facilities for the 8,352 members of the U.S. Marines and about 9,000 dependents who must relocate from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.
The Marines' move to Guam is expected to cost about $10 billion, of which $6 billion will be paid by Japan.
The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force is moving out of Okinawa as part of the U.S.-Japan agreement aimed at beefing up security in the region and consolidating U.S. military installations in Japan to free up land for return to the Japanese.
But while Japan is helping to pay for the Marines' relocation, such as for barracks and "quality-of-life" facilities, the highway project is expected to be 100 percent funded by American taxpayers, according to an itemized list of cost sharing between Japan and the U.S.
Real property values soaring
The anticipation of local economic growth stemming from the military buildup already has sent the values of Guam homes, condominium units and land parcels soaring.
"I am amazed at how much the island has already benefited from the initial phases of the buildup," said Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo, in a speech to the Guam Chamber of Commerce yesterday.
She mentioned that in some cases, real property values have increased 300 percent over the past few years.
"The economic investment I see here on Guam will eclipse the boom we experienced in the '80s," she said, of the era when Guam was a magnet for Japanese investors who financed construction of many Guam hotels.
"Rising property values means equity for the residents of Guam and that translates into wealth," she said.
The congresswoman's speech did not mention the $1.25 billion highway project, but she said that even before the Marine-related construction kicks in, the military buildup has begun.
The fiscal 2008 defense spending bill includes $300 million in military construction projects for Guam. The bill has passed the House, and it will work out a version that will also be acceptable to the Senate.
Fiscal 2009 funding for military projects on Guam will hover around $500 million, and more than $1 billion a year starting in 2010, Bordallo said.
Investments
For Guam investors who are planning to buy land in areas near the future billion-dollar road project, they can do so now, but their investments might not turn profits any time soon.
While the construction project for the Marines' relocation is expected to begin three years from now, or around July 2010, the road project will start years further into the buildup, according to a military time line.
The military highway construction might start in the fifth year into the buildup, or around 2015, based on the preliminary time line.
But before any of the major buildup construction projects can begin, environmental impact assessments must be completed.
That process could take about two years, according to a military estimate
Proposed highway would cut through Manengon
By Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News
gdumat-ol@guampdn.com
May 31, 2007
Guam's future billion-dollar highway, which is a piece of the military buildup puzzle, likely will run across largely undeveloped hills and valleys of Chalan Pago, Yona and Piti, according to a tentative map from the Navy.
If the idea evolves into an adopted plan, the highway would start near the point where Routes 10 and 4 meet in Chalan Pago, according to a Department of the Navy Guam planning document, which was still at an early stage and was labeled "notional."
The $1.25 billion highway would provide the military with an alternative access that links Andersen Air Force Base in northern Guam and the Navy base on the southern side of the island.
The Air Force and Navy bases use Marine Corps Drive for a main link, but the road has had a history of gridlock during serious accidents.
In May 2006, Air Force Lt. Gen. Daniel Leaf, deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said in an interview that when the island's military population grows significantly, the highway would be needed to "move both people, supplies and equipment from north to south, south to north on the island, whether it's for training or to deploy out of the harbor."
"And we want to do that with minimal impact on the community and expeditiously. The current road structure doesn't really allow for that very well. So that's an area we believe we'll have to invest in," Leaf said.
The largest chunk of the $15 billion military buildup on Guam involves building housing, training and other facilities for the 8,352 members of the U.S. Marines and about 9,000 dependents who must relocate from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.
The Marines' move to Guam is expected to cost about $10 billion, of which $6 billion will be paid by Japan.
The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force is moving out of Okinawa as part of the U.S.-Japan agreement aimed at beefing up security in the region and consolidating U.S. military installations in Japan to free up land for return to the Japanese.
But while Japan is helping to pay for the Marines' relocation, such as for barracks and "quality-of-life" facilities, the highway project is expected to be 100 percent funded by American taxpayers, according to an itemized list of cost sharing between Japan and the U.S.
Real property values soaring
The anticipation of local economic growth stemming from the military buildup already has sent the values of Guam homes, condominium units and land parcels soaring.
"I am amazed at how much the island has already benefited from the initial phases of the buildup," said Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo, in a speech to the Guam Chamber of Commerce yesterday.
She mentioned that in some cases, real property values have increased 300 percent over the past few years.
"The economic investment I see here on Guam will eclipse the boom we experienced in the '80s," she said, of the era when Guam was a magnet for Japanese investors who financed construction of many Guam hotels.
"Rising property values means equity for the residents of Guam and that translates into wealth," she said.
The congresswoman's speech did not mention the $1.25 billion highway project, but she said that even before the Marine-related construction kicks in, the military buildup has begun.
The fiscal 2008 defense spending bill includes $300 million in military construction projects for Guam. The bill has passed the House, and it will work out a version that will also be acceptable to the Senate.
Fiscal 2009 funding for military projects on Guam will hover around $500 million, and more than $1 billion a year starting in 2010, Bordallo said.
Investments
For Guam investors who are planning to buy land in areas near the future billion-dollar road project, they can do so now, but their investments might not turn profits any time soon.
While the construction project for the Marines' relocation is expected to begin three years from now, or around July 2010, the road project will start years further into the buildup, according to a military time line.
The military highway construction might start in the fifth year into the buildup, or around 2015, based on the preliminary time line.
But before any of the major buildup construction projects can begin, environmental impact assessments must be completed.
That process could take about two years, according to a military estimate
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