Deliveries of goods likely to be delayed

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser staff writer

Jerry Waiau, a driver for Pacific Express, says fewer lanes on and off Sand Island will likely mean more back ups and congestion. Photos by Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

The townbound lanes, left, of the Sand Island bridge will be closed. Traffic will be contraflowed on the other side.

The closure will leave just one lane in each direction for the thousands of trucks and other vehicles that use the bridge, the only link between Honolulu Harbor's main cargo terminals and the rest of O'ahu and is likely to cause some delays for many island businesses.

Commercial drivers, some of whom cross the bridge more than a dozen times a day, said the closure will be "inconvenient," "horrible" and a "pain in the butt."

"Oh, it's going to be bad, that's for sure," said Ray Tamashiro, a dispatcher for Imperial Trucking. "Everybody's already in a hurry, with deadlines to meet and customers waiting. It's bound to slow things down."

It will be the first time in almost two decades that there will only be one lane in and one lane out of the Sand Island industrial area.

Work to replace the metal deck on the two town-bound lanes will begin May 24. Once the work starts, traffic will be limited to one lane in each direction on the concrete portion of the bridge, said DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

Drivers and other workers spoken to at lunch wagons, truck depots and other stores on Sand Island yesterday said they were surprised by the news of the bridge closure.

"It's the first I've heard of it, but everybody who gets any container in the state is going to find out soon," said Baker Hookano, a driver for Pacific Enterprises which has a depot on the makai side of the bridge.

"It's going to be humbug. The area is already congested sometimes with trucks going in and out all day long. Whenever there's a little problem it can back up quick," added Jerry Waiau, a truck driver for 39 years.

Ishikawa said the metal grating on the 40-year-old bridge has been deteriorating from the wear and tear of the heavy trucks, forcing the state to make three emergency repairs in the past six months.

Once the $4.7 million project begins, traffic on the remaining concrete lanes will be contraflowed 24 hours a day for the duration.

The original two-lane bridge could be raised and lowered to allow boat traffic to pass underneath. In the late 1980s, though, the state permanently sealed the metal bridge and built a new concrete one alongside it, creating four lanes to accommodate the growing traffic, which now includes more than 2,000 trucks a day.

During construction speed limits will be reduced to 15 mph heading toward Nimitz Highway and 25 mph heading into Sand Island. Along with some expected delays, that could have a financial impact on many of the businesses that rely on timely delivery of goods arriving by ship at the Matson and Horizon cargo lines beyond the bridge, drivers said yesterday.

"It's worse than inconvenient," said Mario Agricula, a driver for United Tire and Recapping Company who said he sometimes crosses the bridge 20 times in one day. "It's going to be horrors, that's all."

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