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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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Ala Wai project awaits arrival of more parts
Question: Why are there still pillars and sewer lines left on Ala Wai Boulevard? I thought that everything was to be gone at the end of last year. The barriers and ugly pipes are still there between Seaside Avenue and Lewers Street.
Answer: The portable pumps, barricades and piping are "standing by" as part of an emergency backup system to the city's Beachwalk Pump Station, said Markus Owens, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Services.
Owens explained that the Beachwalk Wastewater Emergency Bypass is at a "lull," as workers await the delivery of ordered parts and materials. Delivery is expected around April, at which time the project will begin anew.
The project is the result of the accidental discharge of wastewater into the Ala Wai Canal in March 2006, after weeks of rain caused an aging force main under Kaiolu Street to rupture.
"The goal is to always provide a continuous portable pump backup to the pump station to avoid a possible sewage spill," Owens said of the current project.
When the backup pumps are reinstalled next to the Beachwalk Pump Station, they will be used with the new underground sewage bypass line to the "Makai Vault."
Work also will entail building catwalks and installing a new electrical and ventilation system in the "Makai Vault," at Kuhio Avenue and Kaiolu Street.
At that point, the city plans to remove the remaining pipes along the Ala Wai.
"We will do a test of the restored backup system to establish what flows it can handle before making a final decision," Owens said.
The city also plans to install a permanent underground line connecting the two microtunneled lines under the Ala Wai Canal and Kaiolu Street to the Moana Pump Station at Ala Moana Park. Work on the two lines were completed last summer.
For more information, go to www.beachwalkbypass.com. You can leave comments or ask for updates via newsletters.
Auwe
To whoever defaced the nice Panasonic building in Halawa, at the entrance to Halawa District Park on Iwaiwa Street. The taggers spread red paint all over the side of the building. It looks terrible, like they desecrated the aina. It makes me so mad. -- David Bealer
Mahalo
To a kind young man. On Friday, Feb. 22, I was parking my car on Punchbowl Street to get some tax forms from the federal building. I noticed that I had only dollar bills and no loose change for the parking meter. I asked a woman passing by for some change, when a young man who was on a cell phone and carrying a soda overheard my request. Not only did he offer me 50 cents, but he would not take my offer for $1 in exchange. Many thanks to this young man. It was so nice to see this kindness from such a young person these days. -- Richelle Tagawa
Got a question or complaint? Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered. E-mail to
kokualine@starbulletin.com.
See also: Useful phone numbers