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Monday, July 24, 2000
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Mysterious machine in the middle of Nimitz
Highway near Kekaulike Street.
These overlapping jurisdictions might explain why construction projects there tend to confuse both parties.
The mystery du jour is this apparatus parked in the Nimitz median near the Kekaulike intersections. It's been there for some months. Is it some sort of grain elevator? Concrete mixer? Mai tai shaker?
A closer inspection reveals scary-looking gears at the bottom and a warning sign to stand clear -- in case there's a mai-tai overflow, we presume.
It actually deals with fairly new technology called "jet-grouting." The manufacturer is Tecniwell of Italy.
Essentially, it's used when thin concrete is power-pumped into soil, hardening and stabilizing it. Wet soil is even better -- the concrete just gets harder.
The silo holds the grout mix. So much for the mai tai theory.
The system is being used to stabilize the soil around new wastewater pipes in the Chinatown area.
Curious or puzzled about something you've seen, heard, felt or smelled? Drop us a line: Wat Dat?, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, HI 96802, fax at 523-7863 or email at features@starbulletin.com and we'll find out.
