FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
With the H-1 freeway closed, Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. crews lifted the 60-ton, 80-foot section of the Aiea pedestrian overpass into place early yesterday morning. A single crane quickly raised the section and set it into position in about an hour.
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Aiea overpass nears fix
The state is hoping to reopen a damaged Aiea pedestrian overpass by Dec. 15, more than three months after the walkway was struck by an oversize load carried on an Army truck.
A 60-ton slab of concrete was attached to the standing, town-bound section of the H-1 overpass about 2:55 a.m. yesterday, said Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The work closed the freeway in both directions starting at 1:30 a.m., but there were no inconveniences as traffic remained light throughout the morning, Ishikawa said. The town-bound lanes reopened at 4:30 a.m., and the Ewa-bound lanes were cleared at 6 a.m., he said.
The new, 80-foot section of the overpass was built in a cast at a Hawaiian Cement facility in Halawa. Crews with Hawaiian Dredging used a crane to lift the slab into place before welding its ends with steel bars, Ishikawa said.
Beginning this week, drivers should anticipate closures of up to three Ewa-bound lanes starting at 9 p.m. so that workers can pour concrete on each end of the replacement walkway, finish its top surface and attach railings. Ishikawa thanked motorists for their patience while the state fixed the overpass, which is used mostly by students from Alvah Scott Elementary School and Aiea High School.
The overpass has been closed since Sept. 6, when it was damaged by the boom of a hydraulic excavator being hauled on an Army tractor-trailer. The state shut down that stretch of freeway for eight hours after the accident when officials deemed it unsafe to let traffic pass with the threat of concrete falling on vehicles.
An investigation determined that the boom of the excavator was 4 1/2 feet higher than the legal limit of 14 feet, and the Army suspended the licenses of the driver and assistant driver. The Army will reinforce training of its drivers and re-examine how it transports equipment to prevent future accidents on public roads, said spokesman Christopher Rodney.
The estimated $500,000 cost of the reconstruction, which includes the $150,000 tab for demolishing the damaged section of the overpass, will be paid for by the Army, Rodney said.
"We acknowledged that we're at fault for that and we're prepared to process the bill when the state gives it to us," he said.