Posted on: Sunday, September 19, 2004

Halawa bridge fix to take a year

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

The state says it will take about a year to remove and replace a portion of the Halawa Stream Bridge on Kamehameha Highway.

Work began last month on the $7.2 million project to replace the bridge on the Honolulu-bound lanes of the highway near the Halawa Gate of Pearl Harbor Naval Station, state Transportation Department spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.

The first phase of the work involves building a temporary bridge and detour to handle traffic while the rest of the project is completed, he said.

Once the temporary bridge is in place, crews will begin to demolish the aging bridge and replace it with a new concrete one, Ishikawa said.

Engineers said they hope to keep delays in the area to a minimum during construction hours, but they do anticipate closing one lane at a time during construction of the detour road and temporary bridge.

Once that work is completed, however, work on the new bridge will be conducted in a separate, closed-off area that should not require lane closures, Ishikawa said.

In addition to the new bridge, the project calls for relocating utilities and for installing new guard rails, traffic signals, pavement markings and landscaping in the area.

The work is expected to be completed by the end of September 2005.

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