Ground Breaks on Tiyan Parkway, One Homeowner Refuses to Leave

GUAM -  The Tiyan Parkway Project is now officially underway with the ground breaking of phase one celebrated this morning. The next phase of the project still faces some challenges however as one of the landowners directly affected says she doesn't want to move.

Phase I includes the construction of a new roadway connecting Route 8 to the Sunset Boulevard near the former GPD headquarters. The new road will replace the existing Central Avenue making way for larger aircraft to land on the airports expanded runway.

The next phase however may require the acquisition of six parcels of private property and one parcel of ancestral land in order to expand sunset boulevard. One of those homeowners told PNC today she isn't willing to budge.

“Now they tell me that we have until the end of this year to move out that's not fair,” Tiyan resident Lorraine Ninete said. “All I'm asking if they're gonna build a road then just avoid my unit.... make a retaining wall or something.”

Ninete has been living in house number 819 since 2004 and her sister lives in the adjacent unit. According to Ninete says the home was given to her family, the Leon Guerrero family, along with the surrounding properties because they were the original landowners.

While many of her relatives have since moved on Ninete doesn't want to leave the home that she's spent $90,000 to remodel.

“When I moved in there there wasn't even a door,” Ninete told PNC. “Not even a toilet and I fixed everything inside.”

Governor Eddie Calvo spoke with Ninete following today's ground breaking and she believes his office will work with her moving forward.

The Governor's Special Assistant for Infrastructure Mark Calvo confirmed that the Governor is willing to work towards a compromise with Ninete.

“The Governor has promised along with the intent of the federal government to try to meet her expectations but they have to be realistic,” Calvo said in a phone call with PNC this afternoon.

Design work for Phase II hasn't begun yet as Department of Public Works Director Carl Dominguez told PNC last week that funding isn't yet available to acquire the properties needed,

The $7,341,558.25 Phase I is funded through Federal Highway Funds is slated for completion in March of 2015.  

READ the press release on the project from the Governor's Office below:

“The Tiyan route is a major traffic artery for Guam. But, the Tiyan Parkway is more than a traffic route – it’s the next step on the road to increasing the airport’s capacity.  We came close to losing access to this because of decades of inaction and the inability for leadership to find real solutions.  We’re about moving forward.  And that’s the most important thing about this groundbreaking ceremony:  it represents our collective commitment to finding the right way, and moving in the right direction.” –Governor Eddie Baza Calvo

Crisis averted:  Tiyan Parkway saved after 20-year deadlock

Construction on the Tiyan Parkway starts today. This follows 20 years of inaction and stalemate on a project that if Governor Calvo didn’t rescue could have resulted in the total closure of Tiyan from use as a main roadway. This is because the airport needs to close the current main road, Central Avenue, in order to expand its runway. Closing Central Avenue without the alternate Tiyan Parkway will devastate island traffic flow.

However, Governor Calvo met with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials who then gave local officials ample time to make good on GovGuam’s 20-year-old promise to build the Tiyan Parkway before closing Central Avenue.

Governor Calvo, airport officials, and representatives of the Department of Public Works, kicked off the first phase of the major thoroughfare in central Guam. Construction will start at the mouth of Tiyan across from Cars Plus and will result in a modern roadway connecting Central Guam to Northern Guam along a scenic vista.

Building GIAA capacity

In addition to improving traffic flow, the new Tiyan Parkway’s location will meet FAA regulations that will allow the Airport to put into operation a new runway capable of serving larger aircraft.

Federal money already was approved for the runway project but, because of the lack of movement, stood to be lost.

Project specifics

The new Tiyan Parkway will connect Route 8 to Sunset Boulevard near the former GPD headquarters in Tiyan. The new roadway will replace the existing Central Avenue, which will be closed in 2015 for the new, extended airport runway.

Phase 1 construction includes the addition of 1,940 linear feet of a new five-lane roadway, and another 2,920 linear feet of two-lane roadway. The construction will go from the Route 8, by Cars Plus, intersection and taper to the two-lane connection to the former GPD headquarters.

Completion for the Tiyan Parkway Phase I construction project is scheduled for March, 2015.