In this edition of El Puente, we will continue our journey to the nearby United States Virgin Islands (USVI). We will look at St. Thomas - its history and at some of the projects sponsored by the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works.

St. Thomas is the "capital " of the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is 32 square miles and has a population of approximately 60,000. The first permanent settlement on St. Thomas took place in 1672 with the arrival of the Danish West India Company. Plantations were parceled for agricultural purposes. During this period of time, Fort Christian was the only structure at the harbor. However by 1674, the Danish West India Company had changed its name to the Danish West India and Guinea Company, and St. Thomas rapidly became one of the leading slave trade centers in the West Indies. This initial prosperity as a port prompted the governor to grant permission for the construction of four houses with tavern licenses, along the harbor west of the Fort. The immediate success of these taverns, led to the settlement being called “Tap Hus”, which means Beer Hall. The name “Tap Hus” continued until 1691 when the settlement was officially declared a town and named Charlotte Amalie in honor of the Queen of Denmark, wife of King Christian V.

The first census of the island, taken in 1681, identified 37 persons living in the town. By 1754, Charlotte Amalie had grown into an important prosperous trade center. The Merchants, under the yoke of the Danish West India and Guinea Company was severely in debt, and mismanagement persuaded King Frederick V to buy the asset of the Company and return the island to sovereign rule. This resulted in an immediate decrease in commerce and trade. However, the loss was only temporary, because St. Thomas was declared a free port in 1766. These changes, along with Denmark’s posture of neutrality during the various European wars of the mid and late 18^th century, contributed to the remarkable growth and development of St. Thomas. By 1799, the population of Charlotte Amalie had increased to 7,000, and the town became the most important trading center in all of the West Indies. This increase in population had forced the town to expand beyond its east and west boundaries and, most importantly, to the north where two new residential subdivisions were developed. The new subdivisions were Savanne (Savan), which is west of Denmark Hill and the New Town (Kings Quarter), which is located northeast of Fort Christian. These areas consisted of smaller homes and were developed to house the free black population, which was much larger than the population of white colonists.

Charlotte Amalie was constructed long before the advent of the automobile, and the business districts were connected to the residential districts by way of small stepstreets. Today, those stepstreets remain indispensable and culturally significant, because they allow the residents and visitors to get around Charlotte Amalie easily and quickly adding character to this unique town.

By 1870, Charlotte Amalie had fallen into hard times. The town briefly served as a base for Confederate blockade runners during the Civil War. In 1878 the St. Croix labor riots which resulted in the final blow to the Charlotte Amalie economy. This action caused the closing of virtually all major shipping companies in St. Thomas and the commercial importance of Charlotte Amalie was a thing of the past.

The United States purchased the Danish West Indies in 1917, primarily to prevent Germany to use it as a submarine base. The islands continued under the administration of the United States Armed Forces until 1930. During this period, the improvement to the economy was minimal.

After World War II, there was an increase in tourism which resulted in many changes to Charlotte Amalie, and to the entire island. The increase in tourism, population and vehicles placed pressure on the existing road system. In the early 1950's, the four-lane highway, Veterans Drive was constructed. This highway is still considered a major arterial, which has many access points to and from the business district and the many government buildings located in Charlotte Amalie. The topography in Charlotte Amalie has a hilly terrain, which affords the residents and visitors breathtaking views, but also requires continuous road maintenance y the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works.

Roadway pavement maintenance and improvement is an ongoing task performed by the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works. Plans are in place for the construction of box culvert on major traffic routes such as the Harwood Highway and Ninth Street in Sugar Estate. Both projects are in densely populated residential and commercial areas. Major long-range projects include improvements to the Raphune Hill area, which has a high volume of traffic. Raphune Hill is the main thoroughfare to hotels, the dock that provides transportation St. John and the British Virgin Islands, including Tortola, several residential areas, the growing commercial districts and shopping destinations including Tutu Park Mall. The high level of traffic generated by the residents and visitors has created capacity problems along this roadway. This traffic problem has created an enormous challenge for the Department of Public Works on an island where road expansion is limited. The premature road deterioration resulting from the increased traffic volume and drainage related problems is a priority for the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works to provide better roads for the residents and tourists that strengthen the socioeconomic development of the island.