KAILUA — When Kailua Elementary students help bury a time capsule today to mark the completion of a concrete path to their school, it will be a fitting tribute. After all, the walkway was a long time in coming.

The idea to give students and others cutting through Kailua District Park a safe, dry way to reach their classrooms and nearby recreation areas was born more than a decade ago. But with one thing and another, it never got built until now.

Volunteers organized by the Kailua Urban Design Task Force are expected to put the finishing touches this afternoon on the concrete walkway, which goes along the edge of the park from Kailua Road near Times Supermarket to the back gates of the school. It also connects up with existing walkways leading to the nearby tennis courts, swimming pool and public library.

"I'm just glad it's getting done and the kids finally have a way to get into school without getting all muddy on a rainy day," said Ken Sanders, a former chairman of the task force, part of the Kailua Chamber of Commerce.

Sanders first raised the idea when the task force was getting started in 1994. But the project languished until new Kailua Elementary School Principal Lanelle Hibbs got behind it about three years ago, Sanders said.

Even then it wasn't simple. The task force had to seek and receive the approval of the city Department of Parks and Recreation, the City Council, the state's Walkable Communities Program, the Kailua Neighborhood Board, Chamber of Commerce, Outdoor Circle and even the AYSO soccer commissioner.

Ameron Hawaii donated the concrete. Colluccio Construction Co. dug the trench, and Valluzzi Poteet Construction and Thielen Construction provided skills and labor. Hardware Hawaii gave lumber for the forms. Kane'ohe Marines turned out in force. Kane'ohe Ranch and the planning firm Helber Haster & Fee offered lunch to the workers.

Now everyone using the park will find it easier, Hibbs said.

"The biggest thing is the kids won't get all wet in the grass in the morning as they come from their homes to the school," Hibbs said. "But there are also a lot of parents with strollers and senior citizens who will benefit, too." For some students and others who have avoided the park and instead walk through Kailua town, the pathway will save 10 to 15 minutes each way.

Weather permitting, the volunteers will celebrate the end of the project today by burying the time capsule alongside the path with instructions to dig it up in 25 years.

It will contain student artwork, stories, a DVD of a fourth-grade class around-the-island trip, and even a school T-shirt. And there will be pictures of the construction, just so no one will forget how much time and effort went into the project.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.