It's true. The government was going to take over the area where the gas station is through imminent domain in February so they can construct a roundabout to accommodate traffic coming from Enighed Pond. O'Connor just recently ran out of gas and decided not to order any more, since the station would be closing soon anyway.
On another important note, the E&C gas station at Pine Peace will also be closing soon, for a few months, to repair fuel tanks. That means no gas, whatsoever, in Cruz Bay during the height of hurricane season. Be prepared!

Holy crap! Thast's not good news for anyone. I feel for anyone on the island, either resident or tourist. Good luck

How much is the gas going for over there? I just paid $4.03 for high test here on STT! Ugh!

Think of the money we'll save!!!!!!!
-Ruth

Save? How? By walking? haha!

So. if O'Conner stays closed, E&C is closed and the only station on island is the Coral Bay station ,which has pretty small storage tanks, and is cash only, I can only imagine the insanity with all of the 1st time tourists making the trip across the island, yet staying in town.

Marty...regular gas is now $2.77, down from over $3.00 about a month ago here outside of Phila. Gas in NJ is about $2.66, that's down the shore near Cape May.

Maybe it will filter on over to STT soon.

WOW...Curious questions on my part about VI legal process... please indulge me if you can...does anyone know how long since The Gov. declared their intent to acquire the property by eminent domain and, the time frame for acquisition/take over...? And also according to the paper, the Government is 'Still in the Design Phase".for the round-about......As my Daddy would say...'Looks like they are gettin' the cart before the horse".....and "This is your tax dollars at work , whether you like it or not!!".. PS.. That nasty time of year is upon us, having just been the recipient of an unwanted guest named "ERNESTO"....I feel deeply for all the folks on STJ...can't imagine the thought of one station open for biz, with limited capacity and cash only...It might make me want to see how far my car would go on RUM!!.. Just hope someone will see the big picture and be proactive...

Wow, talk about a monopoly - the ONLY gas station on the island.

I sure hope the station owner in Coral Bay doesn't decide to capitalize.

I can only imagine the chaos this is going to cause and the amount of cars off the road because people weren't ready to deal with or forgot to bring cash for the Coral Bay gas station. It's quite a hoot driving the roads as it is imagine not only having to maneuver around donkeys, goats, and cows, but now cars that have run out of gas. Perhaps something will be resolved by the time we get there in Feb. but knowing island time I'm not betting on it. "Stay Left....Got Gas & Cash..."! Good luck everyone!

I know the VI gov't. is lame, but my guess is that they will HAVE to do something about this. I read that Texaco was given until February instead of Nov./Dec. (?) to close up. Maybe they can be persuaded to re-open until E&C has completed their work.

They were given until February to close, but O'Connor ran out of gas now, and in my opinion, said a big "screw you" to the government by deciding to not re-order gas and just close now. Also, O'Connor is a principal in the Coral Bay Marina project, and he'll be extremely busy trying to comply with all the conditions that are attached to his permit.
There is an emergency town meeting on St. John tonight regarding this issue. A representative from Texaco, and from Public Works, which is doing the roundabout project that will take over the Texaco, have been invited to the meeting tonight.
Boats...I don't know the exact timing, but I feel like it's been public knowledge that the Texaco will be taken for the roundabout since I moved here over a year ago.

Mainland visitors have enough challenges with LH driving and now they want to add roundabouts? US drivers are notoriously poor at dealing with roundabouts.

This should be fun.

This is true, but with the opening of Enighed Pond, the roundabout is a necessity. As it is, trucks hauling large containers that are heading to St. Thomas have to do three and five-point turns to negotiate that turn to get down to the barge, and often times, cars behind or in front of the truck have to scramble to get out of the truck's way. The roundabout will absolutely help with traffic flow in that area.

My guess is that people will be lining up with gas containers at the fuel station near the National Park dock to buy gas.

I wonder what the government (EPA) will do to O'Conner if he / Texaco doesn't have that site "enviromentally safe" by thier deadline.

I don't understand how the government can seize land by imminent domain and still require the individual whose land was seized to provide the seized land in an improved condition. If the land met acceptable cleanliness standards before the seizure, the person who didn't want his land seized shouldn't have to improve the land for those who seized it from him.

Maybe I can come and get a job now. eminent domain work is what I do.

easyed,

I thought it was spelled "eminent" but the article I read spelled it imminent and I figured I was mistaken. I imagine eminent domain work makes you an unpopular indivdiual in certain circles.