H-1 widening delayed again

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

The Transportation Department's largest construction project of the year, a planned $65 million widening of the H-1 Freeway near Waimalu, is being delayed again — this time because of a nationwide steel shortage.

Work on the project is set to begin by the end of March, DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.

Initially, officials planned to begin work on the project last spring, then pushed back the start to January to avoid causing roadway delays in the busy holiday season.

A backlog in the nation's steel mills, caused in part by a booming economy, will prevent the contractor from receiving enough steel to start the project for about three more months, Ishi-kawa said.

Kiewit Pacific was the apparent low bidder for the project after bids were opened last month and is likely to be awarded the project soon.

"They can't start if they don't have the steel," Ishikawa said.

The project will widen the H-1 to six lanes in the westbound direction from the Waimalu viaduct to the Pearl City off-ramp, an area where rush-hour traffic frequently slows to a crawl. An estimated 220,000 vehicles use the roadway every day.

A key component of the project is the construction of a 30-foot wide bridge that will parallel and be linked to an existing bridge to expand the highway, said Lance Wilhelm, a Kiewit spokesman.

"There's a considerable amount of steel in the columns, foundations and girders and there is a problem getting steel on the West Coast right now," Wilhelm said.

Because the project is using federal highway money, the contractor is required to use American steel rather than more readily available imported steel, Ishikawa said. Most steel for highway projects in the state is imported from California, Ishikawa said.

Although much of the work will be done at night and all freeway lanes will remain open during rush hours, the state is worried that the use of heavy equipment and other construction can still cause problems for daytime commuters.

To minimize commuter delays during the construction, the contractor is being asked to work at least 22 hours a day, seven days a week. The state also plans to penalize the contractor each time it closes a lane of traffic and offer it discounts for each day it finishes ahead of schedule.

The state also spent more than $4 million to move 10 property owners who were in the path of a planned widening or construction access. The biggest chunk of money, $1.7 million, went to the Waimalu Grace Brethren Church, which moved to Waipi'o.

Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.