The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded the territory $1.6 million to begin burying power lines on Main Street in Charlotte Amalie - a move officials think could save millions in damages if a hurricane should strike.

The project is similar to one already under way in Christiansted.

The grant to the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency will be passed through to the V.I. Water and Power Authority.

VITEMA goes into the community to evaluate potential projects that may qualify for FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant funding and selects projects to submit for the competitive grant after a cost-benefit analysis, VITEMA State Director Mark Walters said.

In this case, VITEMA and WAPA worked together on the grant proposal, Walters said.

Burying the power cables is "very important. Whatever we can humanly do to mitigate the future impact of a storm, the quicker the community and private sector can get back to normalcy."

The $1,632,469 grant is to construct a multi-way electrical duct bank system on Main Street for communications, primary and secondary electrical distribution, for conduits and for five manholes along a 1,700-foot route, according to a statement Government House released announcing the award.

When that work is finished, WAPA will buy cable and materials and hire a contractor to install them, the release states.

The grant is for the first phase of the project, which WAPA estimates will take about 18 months from the start of construction, said Bliss Bully, WAPA grants manager. The grant is a 75-25 cost share, with WAPA putting up 25 percent from excess amounts in its self-insurance fund.

The phases of the project represent distance covered by the underground cable, Bully said.

To prepare for the underground project, VITEMA hired URS Corp. to map the existing electrical cables, water pipes and sewer lines underneath the streets in downtown Charlotte Amalie. WAPA will be able to use the data collected to map out where the cables should be buried and to minimize traffic disruption when the project begins.

"Mitigation is key to the territory's ability to quickly recovering from the disastrous effects of major storms," Walters said in the release. "For businesses, it's crucial that they are able to continue operations and keep workers gainfully employed. For our utility, it means less money and manpower spent repairing lines in the aftermath of a storm."

WAPA in September launched work on the first of two phases of a similar project on St. Croix - the Christiansted Underground Project, which also was funded with a FEMA hazard mitigation grant.

In that project, General Engineering Corp. is excavating and then will install conduits and manholes from WAPA's Richmond substation to West Street. Conduits will be installed to Strand Street and then to the Prince Street intersection in Christiansted.

The second phase in Christiansted will include underground installation on Strand, King and Company streets.

Overall, FEMA has awarded the territory $3.74 million for Phase One and $3.67 million for the second phase of the project, which officials estimate will take three years.

"What makes it very challenging in the territory is the topography. It's very, very expensive to bury cables," Walters said.

Because the underground cabling is not cheap, the best way to make a case for the highly competitive funding is to zero in on areas that contain critical infrastructure, Walters said.

"You hit key, critical facilities - things that are vital to the restoration of services to the communities - then you can work your way out," he said.

Cables to both of the territory's hospitals and both University of the Virgin Islands campuses have already gone underground.

FEMA takes a hard look at the costs and the benefits when reviewing hazard mitigation grant applications, said Sonny Beauchamp, hazard mitigation officer for FEMA's Region 2 Caribbean Area Division.

Typically, the agency wants to see that for every dollar spent on a hazard mitigation grant, at least $1 will be saved in future damages, he said.

"We are really looking forward to future underground projects," he said.

In the past - in the years following Hurricane Georges - Puerto Rico also applied for FEMA hazard mitigation funding and has completed significant burying of electrical lines in the San Juan metropolitan area, he said.

- Contact Joy Blackburn at 774-8772 ext. 303 or e-mail jblackburn@dailynews.vi.