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Bypass road
across Waimea Bay
sand takes shape
Marines will roll out fiberglass
By Lori Tighe
matting today; Kiewit Pacific will
finish the job after steel planking
arrives next week
Star-BulletinState Transportation officials were to meet with newly hired contractor Kiewit Pacific today as work begins on building a temporary roadway to get the North Shore moving.
Kaneohe Marines planned to unroll 240 feet of temporary fiberglass roadway onto Waimea Bay Beach Park. The same material is used to move vehicles across beaches in amphibious landings.
"State Civil Defense, the Corps of Engineers, the Army and the state have worked very hard to make this happen," state Transportation Director Kazu Hayashida said. "We appreciate the community spirit shown by the military in making this happen so quickly."
The temporary road, when finished, will allow residents to detour Monday's rockslide that closed Kamehameha Highway along the beach.
Kiewit Pacific then can turn its attention to permanent repairs.
The matting the Marines will lay down "is only a Band-Aid, a quick fix," Marines spokesman Maj. Jeff Nyhart said.
"We're providing everything we have. How the state wants to utilize it, I'm not sure," Nyhart said.
State Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali said the Marines' effort will be the start of a temporary road.
Steel planking needed for the rest of the road should arrive from the mainland by the middle of next week, she said.
"As soon as that arrives, we'll begin construction of the road," Kali said.
"In the meantime, we'll be going over the alignment to get the rest of it moving," Kali said, referring to where the temporary road will be placed along the beach.
Transportation, civil defense and military personnel met yesterday to discuss a pontoon bridge, an idea suggested by a North Shore resident at a community meeting Thursday.
Officials nixed the idea since the military has no pontoon bridges available, Kali said.
Transportation Department personnel were busy at the beach yesterday preparing the way for the temporary road.
To increase parking for residents who must make the trek across the sand from one side of the beach to the other, the city Parks Department is allowing them to leave their cars on a grassy area at Waimea Bay.
