East Honolulu pipe work to begin
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
Summer Street residents, prepare for construction: In about two weeks, workers will be tearing up the road as part of a nearly $1 million project to replace aging water mains.
The project is the first of five scheduled to begin in East Honolulu over the next two to three years, said Alan Hakoda, a Board of Water Supply drafting technician. In all, the work will cost about $5.8 million.
Including water lines replaced under Kalaniana'ole Highway last year, completion of the projects will mean that many of East Honolulu's aging water pipes will have been replaced.
The other projects are:
- In 'Aina Haina, on 'Opihi Street, a portion of Lawelawe Street and 'Olapa Street. A contract has not yet been awarded. The estimated cost is $1.2 million.
- In Mariner's Cove, along Niumalu Loop on the marina front in Hawai'i Kai. Estimated cost is $1.5 million.
- Along Maniniholo Street in Hawai'i Kai off Lunalilo Home Road, and Ka'eleku and Huialoha streets in Kalama Valley. Estimated cost is $963,000.
- From the reservoir to Kealahou Street in Kalama Valley. Estimated cost is $1.2 million.
Work on the other four projects is expected to begin in 2005 or 2006, Hakoda said, but that could change. Areas with repeated main breaks on lines that are older than 50 years require attention first, he said.
Summer Street has been the site of more than a dozen water main breaks in the past couple of years, said Ryan Nakata, a Honolulu Board of Water Supply engineer. The pipes are anywhere from 30 to 50 years old.
Work there will start July 7 and take about nine months to complete, said Nakata. The project will cost $936,000.
Aylward Enterprises has the contract for the work.
Residents will have to go without water service for brief periods as the pipes from their homes are connected to the new lines, Nakata said. Affected residents will be notified.
Summer Street resident Jim Hayes has experienced three breaks in as many years in front of his home.
Replacing the aging pipes will mean inconvenience, dirt and dust, Hayes said. But in the end, it will result in a lot less hassle from emergency water pipe repairs.
"It's absolutely essential that they repair the entire line," he said. "We've talked to the water supply about doing the work first on Kuli'ou'ou Road because that's the main entrance into our community here.
"We are working with them."
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
