Night work set in Hawai'i Kai

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — The private sewer company that serves Hawai'i Kai plans some night work when it makes repairs to a major sewer line under parts of sLunalilo Home Road, a major artery in the community.

Work along Po'ipu Drive, Hawai'i Kai Drive and Lunalilo Home Road will also require some lane closures.

Crews will begin work along Po'ipu Drive starting this week, along parts of Hawai'i Kai Drive in March and along Lunalilo Home Road between Wailua Street and Ahukini Street in mid-April, said Cliff Lum, an engineer hired by the sewer system's operator, Hawai'i American Water Works.

Night work will be required only along the half-mile segment of Lunalilo Home Road. The entire job on Lunalilo Home Road will take about three weeks, but night work would last only about a week, Lum said.

The company is asking the state Department of Health for a noise variance allowing the night work.

Night construction work can create problems for nearby residents, but often is needed to minimize traffic problems during the day or to speed up work.

"When they worked at night on Hawai'i Kai Drive, it was a bit noisy," said Cassandra Stewart, a resident and member of the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board. "There was some detouring, but it's a necessary evil."

The work on the pipes will cost $750,000. The company, which has obtained approval from the Public Utilities Commission to raise sewer service rates 4 percent, said the pipe repairs would not have a direct effect on bills. The new fee schedule will go into effect later this year.

The company has mailed construction notices to residents along the roads where the sewer pipes will be repaired. Last week, the neighborhood board asked the company to send out additional notices to residents in the surrounding neighborhoods alerting them of the impending work.

The work is part of a program to repair corroded and leaking underground sewer pipes put in place when Hawai'i Kai was built in the late 1960s.

Rather than replacing the pipes, the company will reline them. The method will enable the sewer pipes to last 20 more years, the company said.

"Because of the larger-size sewer pipe, it will take more time to cure the pipes," Lum said. "We are replacing about 3,000 feet of sewer pipe, a process that takes five to eight hours just to cure."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.

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