The city is getting ready to tear up Kapi'olani Boulevard again.

This time it's a $23 million, 22-month project to replace aging sewer and water lines in a stretch of the heavily traveled road between Ward Avenue and the Hawai'i Convention Center. Scheduled to begin in February, the project comes about 15 months after the end of a four-month emergency pipe repair that snarled traffic and cut into business sales last year.

"It's going to be a major inconvenience, that's for sure," said Craig Inouye, owner of the Quiksilver Boardriders Club on Kapi'olani Boulevard near Atkinson Drive, one of the busiest intersections in Honolulu. "Right now, there's nothing we can do except let the customers know that we're going to be open and pray that the work gets done quickly."

During last year's construction work, Quiksilver's business declined 30 percent, Inouye said. Now, he's worried that a drop-off might last longer.

"Once construction starts, people are going to want to avoid this area. There are a lot of other options, so they're not going to drive down here with all the hassles," he said. "We'll have to depend on a good holiday season and then really tighten up our belts for the next 18 or 20 months."

The Board of Water Supply will oversee installation of the new 12-inch water main pipe, and the city's Department of Environmental Services will install a new 36-inch sewer line and make sidewalk improvements.

"We know there's going to be a significant impact for residents in the area as well as those who drive through regularly, but we're going to do everything we can to minimize the problems," said Kawehi Yim, a spokesman for the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

At least two lanes of Kapi'olani Boulevard — one-third of the road's capacity — will be closed to traffic. Portions of Kamake'e, Atkinson Drive and Kalakaua Avenue also will be affected by the project.

Two center lanes will be closed 24 hours a day at times during the sewer work. Closures of up to four lanes may be in place during nighttime work, and there will be no contraflow lanes while the project is under way, Yim said.

Much of the work will be done at night, but noise levels will be restricted and work will be suspended on Friday and Saturday nights, Yim said.

"It has to be done. The last time they did it, it was disruptive and businesses complained, but it has to be done. There's no way around it," said John Breinich, head of the Ala Moana/Kaka'ako Neighborhood Board.

Bob Fowler, who lives in a high-rise condominium two blocks away from Kapi'olani, said noise won't be a major problem for most residents.

"It can't be any worse than all the bars and karaoke places in the neighborhood," he said. "When people come out of those places late at night, they sit around and scream and holler till the sun comes up."

Residents in high-rises along Kapi'olani will be told in advance of busy construction times and a 24-hour hot line will be established to answer construction complaints and questions, Yim said. Work also will be suspended between Nov. 20, 2006, and Jan 2, 2007, to ease disruption to residents and businesses through the Christmas shopping season.

The sewer line work involves putting a "cured in place" resin pipe inside the existing 36-inch sewer pipe that was first installed more than 80 years ago. The sewer work, which can be done without exposing the entire length of the pipe, is expected to extend the life of the sewer main for another 50 years.

The water project involves replacing a 70-year-old main pipe using open-trench construction.

The sewer and water project also coincides with a major private construction project planned in the same area. The Seattle-based department store Nordstrom plans to break ground in January on a 200,000-square-foot, three-level store that will be built along Kapi'olani in front of Ala Moana Shopping Center. Construction begins in late January, with the opening in spring 2008.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.