By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Grab your earplugs.

Night construction work moves into high gear today on a yearlong project to replace water pipes and repave parts of Nimitz Highway near downtown Honolulu.

To minimize traffic congestion along the heavily used road, the state is planning to do almost all the work on the $14 million project at night.

That's good news for commuters and thousands of other drivers who can still use the road all day with a minimum of disruption. The work was prompted by nine water main breaks in recent years along Nimitz Highway, which is used daily by 79,000 vehicles, officials said.

The night work is bad news, however, for several thousand people who live in high-rises in the area, especially those who suffered through a big city works project in the area less than two years ago.

The officials have won a noise variance so the work can be done from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. during the week and from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sundays. There will be no work on Friday and Saturday nights. During the work, two lanes of traffic will be closed in either direction.

There may be some relief in the future, though.

Several bills being discussed at the Legislature this year would put an end to one of the most piercing, obnoxious parts of night construction: the constant beep-beep-beep from the alarms of vehicles that are backing up.

One bill in the House puts it this way:

"The Legislature finds that, as part of the increased development of Hawai'i's towns and cities, there has been an increase in noise pollution. One of the contributors to noise pollution is the loud beeping sound emitted by large vehicles when they are reversing."

Existing state law requires the back-up beepers on large trucks. That law was passed as a means to warn pedestrians that a very large piece of metal, sometimes dripping hot asphalt, was about to descend on them from a direction in which they often are not looking.

"When these vehicles operate late at night or near hospitals or hotels, however, the loud noise can be irritating and inevitably raises complaints," the bill says.

So both the House and Senate are studying an alternative but silent safety measure.

One bill (HB1496) would allow drivers of big trucks to turn off their audible warning system if there is another person standing behind the vehicle, manually directing the driver and keeping an eye out for dangerous situations. The bill has passed two readings and is awaiting action by the House Judiciary Committee.

Another bill (SB1474) that would allow vehicle owners to replace the audio beepers with a rear-view camera system appears to be bottled up in committee, at least until lawmakers start hearing from all those residents along Nimitz Highway.

Mike Leidemann's Drive Time column runs Tuesdays. Reach him at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.