Rockslide work at Castle Junction may begin soon

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

The company that worked on the rockfall problem near Waimea Bay three years ago is the low bidder on a similar project at Castle Junction and could begin work on the problem in a matter of weeks, the state Transportation Department said yesterday.

Goodfellow Brothers Inc. submitted a bid of $7.82 million for the project to clear a dangerous hillside at the intersection of Kamehameha and Kalaniana'ole highways at the foot of the Pali in Windward O'ahu.

The winning bid was well below the estimated $15 million to $20 million that state officials had thought the project might cost, said DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa. It beat out six other bids ranging up to $10.98 million.

Allowing the winning bidder the right to sell an estimated 240,000 cubic yards of dirt from the project may have helped bring the cost of the work down, Ishikawa said.

If the Goodfellow bid is approved, transportation officials hope to issue a "notice to proceed" by mid-November and have work completed in six to eight months.

Endangered shearwater birds, however, are throwing a wrench into DOT's plans to work around the clock to complete the project. Night work will be halted from May to November so that construction lights will not confuse and distract the nesting birds in their mating season, Ishikawa said.

To speed the work, though, officials plan to establish a Honolulu-bound contraflow lane along Kalaniana'ole Highway from 5:30 a.m. to 6:45 a.m. on weekdays and exempt the project from a normal shutdown of major road construction projects during the Christmas holiday season.

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