This sketch of the proposed walkway was shown
to residents at a community meeting last night.

Waikiki to take
a pounding

Residents gird for noise and
traffic woes as plans are aired to
widen the Kalakaua
Ala Wai bridge

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

Waikiki residents braced for another onslaught of noise and traffic disruption as they heard details of the planned widening of the Kalakaua Avenue bridge over the Ala Wai Canal.

The $5 million project will add a 14-foot-wide pedestrian walkway to the bridge where hoped-for crowds will someday surge to and from the Hawaii Convention Center.

About 120 people heard about the noisy new year ahead, with pile-driving planned for the first four months of 2000, at a briefing last night by the state Department of Transportation, city Department of Transportation Services and Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

They were also told of other projects ahead -- water main installation on Ala Wai between Kalakaua Avenue and Ala Moana, sewer line installation on Ala Moana near the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and widening of Ala Moana from Atkinson Drive to Kalakaua Ave.

"When am I going to be able to get home at a decent hour?" was the lament of Waikiki resident Bill Ha'ole, whose litany of previous disruptions brought a chorus of agreement.

"Isn't this really for the convenience of hotels yet to be built, and will the hotels be assessed?" asked Ala Wai resident Don Steiner.

Ala Moana/Kakaako Neighborhood Board member Dick Morris said: "I would suggest this needs restudying" after eliciting agreement from project manager Edmund Yoshida that "a free-standing bridge would have been less costly."

By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Above, a planned pedestrian walkway at the Kalakaua bridge has
Waikiki residents concerned about noise and the
disruption of their lives.

Yoshida said other options were considered. More than just a pedestrian bridge, the addition will contain water and sewer mains and utility conduits. It "is a good example of state, city and utility companies cooperating in one project," he said. The arched Kalakaua bridge is a historic structure, so the design had to match the pre-World War II arches and ornate features.

Larry Hurst of the Ala Moana/Kakaako Neighborhood Board, was the rare voice of applause for the project. "I've been looking forward to it for a long time," he said, pointing out that future repairs will be made easy because the utility lines and water pipes on the bridge are accessible.

Yoshida responded to one speaker's complaint about "pile driving to celebrate the New Year" being a turn off for the anticipated heavy influx of tourists to celebrate the New Year 2000. The project manager said the start-up could be delayed a couple of weeks.

Contractors' bids are being accepted this month for the bridge project, which is expected to take all of the year 2000. A hotline will be initiated to provide day-by-day information to residents.

The disruptions ahead will include:

One Waikiki-bound lane will be closed for most working days during 2000.

Two-lane closures will sometimes be necessary, and the schedules will be advertised in advance.

Some 22 parking spaces on Ala Wai will be eliminated between Kalakaua and the 1717 Ala Wai condominium.

The traffic pattern will be changed during working hours through a stretch of Ala Wai which will serve as the contractor's staging area.

One arch of the bridge will remain open for Ala Wai canal boat and canoe traffic.

Piles will be driven at 30 locations, which should mean 30 days of pounding over the first four-month period, Yoshida said.