ANEGADA — After years of promises, plans, delays and references to the road leading toward Cow Wreck, work has finally begun on another phase of rehabilitation of Anegada’s road network.
The latest project will see approximately 4,800 linear feet of roadway paved in concrete along the route toward Cow Wreck, with the works being carried out in four phases.
According to the latest update from Ninth District Representative and Minister Vincent Wheatley, crews have already begun placing fill material to level and prepare the roadway for construction. The work will then move to grading, formwork and concrete paving.
Each of the four phases is expected to take approximately one month, with the first phase covering about 1,200 linear feet.
For residents of Anegada, however, the announcement is about much more than another road project.
It is also a reminder of just how long the road to Cow Wreck has been on Government’s infrastructure agenda.
A promise more than a decade old
Government records show that improvements to Anegada’s roads and the route toward Cow Wreck are not new priorities.
In March 2015, the Ministry of Communications and Works reported that Public Works teams had completed designs for road construction from Setting Point to Cow Wreck. Later that year, Government reported that approximately two miles of road from below the Setting Point jetty toward Cow Wreck were under construction, with about 3,500 feet of kerb walls and road sub-base reportedly completed.
The following year, Government again identified the Anegada road leading to Cow Wreck as part of its road improvement programme.
In 2016, Government said a 12,000-foot section from the Beach Cottages to Cow Wreck Beach Bar & Grill was expected to be completed by December of that year. Another Government response later that year identified the Anegada main road leading to Cow Wreck as one of the areas where remaining funds from a road rehabilitation programme would be used.
Yet the road remained unfinished.
By 2020, Government was again reporting that several secondary road projects on Anegada had reached the design and costing stage.
And the delays continued.
A 2024 Government budget document provides perhaps the clearest picture of the stop-start nature of the process. It stated that works on the road from Agriculture to Cow Wreck Junction were being prepared for tender, while other road projects across the Territory had been delayed or placed on hold as Government resources were redirected to other priorities.
The road has therefore appeared repeatedly in Government plans over the years, with different sections, phases and approaches being identified at different times.
So, why has it taken so long?
That is the question some Anegada residents are likely to ask as the heavy equipment now moves onto the roadway.
There is no question that improved roads are needed.
Anegada’s road network is essential not only to residents but also to the island’s tourism economy. The Cow Wreck area is one of the island’s best-known visitor destinations, and reliable infrastructure is particularly important for an island whose economy depends heavily on tourism.
Government itself has previously acknowledged the importance of improving Anegada’s roads, citing safety, drainage, access and the broader goal of improving infrastructure across the Sister Islands.
But the frustration comes from the timeline.
A project that has appeared in Government plans for years is only now moving into another phase of actual construction.
And that brings politics into the conversation.
‘Why now?’
With the Territory heading into an election period, some members of the public are questioning the timing of the latest infrastructure push.
The question being raised is not necessarily whether the road should be repaired. Few would argue against that.
The question is whether projects that residents have been asking about for years are suddenly moving with greater urgency because an election is approaching.
That perception is not difficult to understand.
Governments routinely accelerate infrastructure projects as elections approach, and voters naturally scrutinise the timing of public works announced or commenced shortly before they are asked to cast their ballots.
But timing alone does not prove political motivation.
The current administration can reasonably point to the fact that road rehabilitation has been underway across the Territory and that the Anegada project is part of a broader infrastructure programme.
Indeed, the Premier’s 2026 Territorial Address highlighted more than $21 million committed to road upgrades and resilience works throughout the Virgin Islands and described road rehabilitation as part of the Government’s wider infrastructure programme.
The question for residents, however, is whether the latest work will actually be completed as promised — and whether the Government will provide enough information for the public to track the project from commencement to completion.
Anegada deserves more than another promise
There is also a larger issue here.
For more than a decade, Government records have documented plans for improving roads toward Cow Wreck. The fact that another 4,800 feet is now being addressed is welcome news.
But residents have every right to ask what happened to the earlier commitments.
Were previous projects completed?
Were contracts delayed?
Was funding redirected?
Did designs have to be changed?
Were there procurement or land issues?
And what is the total amount that has been spent on the various phases of Anegada’s road programme over the years?
Those are reasonable questions when taxpayers are repeatedly told that infrastructure projects are planned, only to see years pass before completion.
The current project is expected to be delivered in four phases, with each phase taking approximately one month.
That means residents will be watching closely.
Not simply to see whether the road is finally paved, but whether the Government delivers the entire 4,800 feet within the promised timeframe.
The road ahead
For now, work has begun.
Fill is being placed. The roadway is being levelled. Construction is moving forward.
And after years of announcements, that is significant.
But for Anegada residents, the measure of success will not be another announcement, another groundbreaking or another election-season photograph.
It will be a completed road.
And perhaps the most important question is not why the work is happening now, but why it took so long to get here.
After more than a decade of plans and promises, Anegada residents may reasonably expect this time to be different.
They have heard the promises. Now they want to see the road.