DPW addressing traffic concerns

The Department of Public Works says it is addressing traffic concerns by implementing measures to alleviate traffic congestion along Beach Road just in time for the beginning of the upcoming school year.

In an interview with DPW Secretary Ray Yumul and head engineer Henry Bautista, they shared that DPW, the Public School System, the Department of Public Safety, and GPPC have come together to discuss a plan to alleviate congestion along Beach Road near Marianas High School as the start of the school year is just around the corner.

“We’ve been getting complaints because of the construction activity especially the northbound lane. The traffic congestion, obviously, is going to be a big problem. Even at our current situation, the traffic is already building up especially from Atkins Kroll Toyota to just past [Saipan] World Resort. DPW engineers, along with DPS, PSS, and GPPC, have come together to devise a strategy to get traffic to ease up. So, some solutions were regarding the traffic light across World Resort which is currently on a timer system that’s kind of like a round-robin system. That wasn’t very efficient. So, the decision made was to close the cross walk across World Resort and shift it south so that the traffic lights will remain blinking so that motorists can just take turns. Tourists will be advised to use the cross walk that will be moved south of the intersection. That should alleviate the traffic congestion down south,” said Yumul.

Going up north, near MHS, Yumul said the outbound northbound lane is set to be paved by next Tuesday which would also alleviate traffic. However, traffic will still be existent in the area as GPPC moves on with renovating the northbound inner lane in the area.

“We had an issue where the contractor was digging down to prepare the base course for the section of road from the Saipan Mayor’s Office entry way north to the street going into Oleai. That section, about 200 yards, it was discovered that the sewer line was actually made of clay piping. The decision was made to replace sewer pipes and update it to HDP (high density polyethylene) plastic. So, our biggest concern is the opening of the school year because MHS has the largest population of students among all three public high schools on island. So, we’ve replaced the clay pipes to avoid problems in the future and GPPC has started to pave that road. Their goal is to pave that whole section before Tuesday next week,” he said.

To further ease up traffic, Bautista and Yumul ask that motorists consider alternate routes like Oleai street and the street next to Downtown Market if their intent is to go through Middle Road or Chalan Kiya.

“We are encouraging motorists to use other routes to alleviate traffic congestion. There will still be traffic, but our goal is to lessen congestion. DPS will also have officers posted strategically to help with traffic,” they said.

Phase two of DPW’s road improvement project, which encompasses the road from As Perdido to AK, is scheduled for completion by Nov. 3.

“That is our biggest goal barring delays. We are still working on contingency plans, we will regroup if issues come along,” said Yumul.