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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, August 15, 2009

Water main break delays work on Beretania gas line


Advertiser Staff

A water main break is delaying ongoing work on the leaking gas line believed to have contributed to an explosion at the Leiopapa o Kamehameha Building on Beretania Street last week.

A Gas Company crew was working yesterday to replace the damaged line with new plastic piping when they apparently hit the water main, sending water spraying 30 feet into the air.
The break occurred at about 11:15 a.m. The Board of Water Supply shut down the line while its personnel works to repair the breach. Traffic in the far right lane of Beretania, near Alakea, was already closed for the gas line repair and will remain closed through the day.
Meanwhile, clean-up work continued at the Leiopapa o Kamehameha Building, where an explosion in a communications room early Thursday forced the closure of the building until at least Monday. The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined, but a Gas Company spokesperson has said that it likely occurred after gas from the leak seeped up from the road through conduits in the building and collected in the room.
Yesterday, a crew from Hawaiian Telcom was at the building to work on a main communications terminal that was damaged by water.