The city is gearing up for a $55 million project to install a 72-inch sewer line from Ala Wai Elementary School to Ala Moana Beach Park that will require crossing the Ala Wai Canal twice.

The work is part of the final phase of a project to upgrade the sewer system that serves Waikiki and several surrounding communities, following the rupture of a 42-inch sewer line on Kai'olu Street in 2006. The break forced the city to dump 50 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal, which closed Waikiki beaches for days.

The city will start accepting bids for the project on May 15.

Work is expected to start in November, and last for 30 months.

The city says the project is one of the biggest sewer upgrades it will undertake this year. But the work, they say, won't entail much in the way of lane closures because crews will use "micro-tunneling" technology — feeding the new piping in place some 40 feet underground through pits. In all, crews will install 5,800 feet of sewer line.

Collins Lam, city Department of Design and Construction deputy director, said the city is trying to minimize inconveniences to the public because of the project. "We're not going to break the road, only in certain places," he said.

The 72-inch line will replace a temporary line installed after the 2006 sewer line rupture.

That temporary pipeline, and other improvements, cost the city more than $40 million.

The new sewer pipeline will be installed starting at Ala Wai Elementary School. It will continue along Ala Wai Park until it reaches the Ala Wai Clubhouse, when it will cross the Ala Wai Canal.

Crews will then install the line under the remainder of Ala Wai Boulevard.

At the end of the roadway, it will cross the canal a second time, ending at Ala Moana Beach Park.