by Mindy Aguon

Guam - Government officials are trying to find a solution that will not only appease the federal government, but also original landowners as a parkway is planned for Tiyan. The major sticking point continues to be the easement and landowner issues that must be resolved before the roadway can be built.

It's an issue that has been placed on the Calvo Administration's list of priorities.

Adelup, in short, supports having a Tiyan parkway. With 14,000 cars that utilize Central Avenue every single day, Governor's Senior Policy Advisor Arthur Clark says the roadway relieves a significant amount of congestion for the island's other thoroughfares. But officials are working on a tight timeline to get the Tiyan Parkway constructed as the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the closure of Central Avenue by the end of next year.

Clark told KUAM News, "If we close Central Avenue, we need to make sure that there is another outlet on route 8. But my understanding is that the FAA doesn't want to do this piecemeal and they're looking for an overall solution here, which includes the second phase, which is the expansion of the runways."

The FAA has already approved Phase I of the project, which stretches from the current Guam Police Department headquarters out to the Cars Plus area in Maite. The bottleneck is Phase II of the project, which is embroiled in encroachment and land ownership issues that the government must first address. The feds have made it clear they won't pay for property in Tiyan that was returned back to the government and then turned over to original landowners.

"We have to explore the options whether it's condemnation, whether it's land swap or some kind of lease or negotiation with the landowners something where we can address that issue," said Clark. "That's a complicated issue given the current situation as far as the government's finances are concerned."

And with limited resources as the government doesn't have extra cash in its coffers, Clark says the lack of money limits the government's options. That's why he's hoping to re-engage the FAA and see why they insist on the parkway being completed in a comprehensive, single, all-inclusive expansion.

"If we can separate the issues so that we do this in phases that'll give us an opportunity to explore the more complicated solution issues which is the phase two and that's where we are. I've been meeting with DPW and the airport this is a priority issue for the governor."