City stepping up pace of road repairs
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
First Beretania Street. Then Kapi'olani Boulevard. Next up: Kalakaua Avenue.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
The city's blitzkrieg to repair storm-ravaged roads moves into full attack mode next week with plans to overhaul parts of at least three more major urban thoroughfares.
Workers from Grace Pacific used a grinding machine to remove the old asphalt on Kapi'olani Boulevard Tuesday night. The city says it plans to spend $2 million in upcoming weeks to target the backlog of road repair work.
In all, the city says it plans to spend $2 million in coming weeks attacking the backlog of road repair work in the central business area.
"And the balance of the $27 million for road repairs will be going out to bid by April," Managing Director Ben Lee said.
Lee said city officials do not know yet whether a new fast-track system of getting contracts for road repairs will result in more lane miles being repaved or reconstructed than under the old method.
It's definitely getting the work done sooner, though.
"We're pleased with the speed and the efficiency, but we don't know yet if we're actually saving money," Lee said. "A lot will depend on how much overtime is required for inspectors and department officials to oversee the work."
Under the emergency plan adopted earlier this month, city officials invited construction companies to evaluate road conditions in urban Honolulu and make their own cost proposals to the city for the repairs. That has resulted in work on some projects being started in a matter of days.
Under the traditional system, city officials spend months developing design specifications for the road repairs, put the plans out to bid and waited for construction companies to respond.
The result was a backlog of work that suddenly became apparent when heavy rains earlier this year exposed dozens of poorly maintained roads and helped open thousands of new potholes or caused other types of damage.
Lee said the new system has resulted in one major stretch of road, Beretania Street between Alapa'i and Alakea streets, being overlaid with a new asphalt top, and reconstruction work starting on the worst stretches of Kapi'olani Boulevard from Ward Avenue to the Hawai'i Convention Center.
In the next few weeks at least two local companies plan to begin work on several more major projects:
• Beretania street, University Avenue to North King Street.
• Kalakaua Avenue between Beretania Street and Kapi'olani Boulevard.
• Pi'ikoi Street between Ala Moana and Kapi'olani boulevards.
• Portions of Iwilei and Kalihi Streets.
Money for the $2 million in emergency repairs is being borrowed from previously scheduled road repair projects from other parts of the island, Lee said.
"We've done some reprioritizing of our street work, and now we'll have to see if we can find enough money to complete the scheduled repairs in other areas," he said. "In any case, we'll get all the projects back in line for resurfacing with the start of the new fiscal year in July."
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
