Exciting news! The first section of the St. Croix Bike Path at the crest of the Christiansted Bypass has now been formally opened by the AARP national president and others involved with the project.

The V.I. Trail Alliance, a nonprofit organization, received a $22,500 AARP challenge grant – the first awarded in the territory by AARP – to design and implement the one-mile bikeway. The path begins at the Gallows Bay stoplight and goes west to the turn to Bassin Triangle.

The bike lane is marked by a thick white line on the north side of the Bypass, but the other markings have not been installed yet by the V.I. Public Works Department. In the near future, intersections will be marked with bright green pavement markings and upright indicators.

The state director for the Virgin Islands, Troy de Chabert-Schuster, told the small group gathered for the ceremony that larger projects are in the works. A three-year AARP grant will be used to create an area east of Gallows Bay for exercise activities that the local AARP will adopt

The community project included volunteers “off the street” and amounted to $25,000 to $30,000 in-kind donations and overmatched the grant. This bike path is the template for other road projects throughout the territory, and Public Works and the Trail Alliance have plans for bike trails from Christiansted to Frederiksted.