Water main work to tear up part of King Street

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Another heads-up for downtown commuters: Starting Monday the city digs up King Street as part of a water main installation project.

The $2 million Board of Water Supply project will run along King from Liliha Street to River Street near Chinatown to install the 24-inch water main.

While two King Street far-right Diamond Head-bound lanes will be closed for construction, the good news is all the work will be done at night from 6:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. weekdays.

Any digging or work dealing with heavy noise will be done before 9 p.m., said Rod Haraga of KFC Engineering Management Inc., which oversees most of the city's downtown projects.

Haraga said the first phase of the project will run from Liliha Street to 'A'ala Park until the end of January. D&C Construction is the project contractor.

The project, originally slated to begin in July, had some drivers wondering whether construction would start before the holiday season.

Haraga said the contractor will work until the Thanksgiving break, resume work until mid-December, and then shut down for the rest of the year until early January.

The second phase of the water main project from 'A'ala Park to River Street will run from February through early summer.

When work is completed each night, crews will backfill the hole instead of placing steel plates across the road to reopen the lanes for traffic.

After the water main project is completed, King Street will be resurfaced through downtown.

Crews have already shut down two lanes of King Street from near Punchbowl Street to South Street to pour concrete for a new bus lane. That work is expected to last until Thanksgiving.

Reach Scott Ishikawa at 525-8070 or sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com