After years of delays, Kean track expected to be finished by June
Published: January 8, 2013
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ST. THOMAS - A crew of about 10 workers continued work on the track and field facility at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School on Monday.
Workers for subcontractor Plant Depot began placing soil over the infield gravel last month.
Plant Depot owner Jasper Templeton expects the infield to be complete by the end of February.
Apex Construction Company is the contractor for the V.I. Public Works Department for the entire project, and site manager Alfred Gumbs said the facility should be finished by June.
The approximately $5 million project began in 2007 with the grading of the field surface and the construction of a retaining wall. Funding ran out a year later.
"We're pushing for before that, but we can't work through rain," Gumbs said about the June completion date.
A first layer of asphalt is complete, but another will be added before the rubberized track surface is put on top. Crews cannot have moisture between the different levels, so dry weather will be welcomed by Apex.
Templeton's crew was busy leveling the soil with rollers. Sod from Italy is expected to arrive in the coming weeks and was ordered eight months in advance, so that it is ready to be rolled out upon arrival, according to Templeton.
In November, the Virgin Islands Senate approved a bill allowing the V.I. Public Finance Authority to issue bonds for a number of capital projects, which includes $4.5 million for completion of the Kean track project. The capital projects bond issuance also includes $1.5 million for repairs to the Charlotte Amalie High School track and field facility, $2.2 million for the St. Croix Educational Complex and $1.8 million for the St. Croix Central High School facilities.
- Contact Tim Chapman at 714-9102 or tchapman@dailynews.vi.
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