Laolao Bay road project completed

A ribbon cutting ceremony marked the completion of the Division of Environmental Quality’s Laolao Bay Drive road construction project intended to reduce erosion and sedimentation in one of the island’s valuable marine ecosystems.

The road construction project is only one of the many components of the $2.7-million Laolao Bay Road and Coastal Management Improvement Plan funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant.

Acting governor Eloy S. Inos and DEQ director Frank Rabauliman led other local and federal officials in the ceremony held yesterday at a little past the entrance to the newly built road that measures 2,100 feet—about four-tenths of a mile.

Rabauliman said that erosion and sedimentation have continued to threaten the corals at Laolao Bay, a “very sensitive marine ecosystem” that is a popular fishing site among residents and a favorite diving spot for tourists.

This prompted DEQ to embark “on a rather ambitious undertaking” in 2009 by applying for the competitive grant that saw 800 applicants nationwide.

“Months of grant writing efforts back and forth, discussions with our grantor, fortunately for us resulted in a little less than $3 million of grant award,” said Rabauliman, noting that DEQ was among the 50 recipients of the stimulus grant.

The project involved the construction of the road, road curbs, and railings, following a design that allows for surface runoff to collect in about five underground catchment systems for transfer to the three-part mini dam before the water goes to a gabion where it is filtered and flows back to a stream and into the bay.

Tim Lang, project manager for the Laolao Bay Drive Road & Coastal Management Improvement Plan, said the challenges they encountered included flocks of nesting terns and notties that were found at the lower part of the road.

Another significant challenge, Lang said, was the narrow right of way, which was only 20 feet wide against the normal width of 40 feet.

“Normally on a road like this on Saipan, you’ll see frequently that the runoff goes on a channel on the side of the road. We didn’t have a room for that so there are drainage pipes that run below the road from top to bottom and that just increases the amount of work and increases the degree of difficulty,” he explained.

In his remarks, Inos said the completion of the $1.4-million project will benefit not just the environment but residents as well.

“Because of the newly paved road here, sedimentation that is usually caused by the erosion of unpaved access roads will be drastically reduced. So not only will this go a long way in protecting our marine environment, but residents and visitors to this area will appreciate the improvements to the road as well,” he said.

James P. Wright, NOAA environmental engineer, welcomed the completion of the road construction that he described as a “community project.”

Wright said actual construction of the road by project contractor GPPC, Inc. began in December 2010.

“We have finished it within our allotted budget and just about within the schedule which is a difficult thing to do given that we’re so, so far away but we were able to do that because we worked closely with very talented people you have here on the island and that’s why it’s really been a success,” he told Saipan Tribune.

According to Wright, the project is “very crucial” due to the sediments that are being washed into Laolao Bay, settling into and harming the corals, especially during heavy rains. “We believe that we’ve put at least a partial stop to that by doing this.”

Rabauliman said a pre-biological assessment of the bay had been conducted to establish the baseline of its overall health and condition, with plans to conduct a post-biological assessment “years from now” to see if changes are observed.