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Question: What ever happened to plans to dredge the Ala Wai Canal in 2001? Ala Wai dredging now
set for summerBy Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.comAnswer: Honolulu-based American Marine Corp. was chosen in June 2000 to remove about 170,000 cubic yards of muck from the bottom of the canal.
Scheduling of the $7.4 million job was put off temporarily because a competing bidder disputed the award. Then, a group of state lawmakers asked for further investigation of alternative disposal methods for the dredged material.
About a year ago, the state Department of Land & Natural Resources announced the dredging would begin in the summer of 2001. But the other delays took so long that by then American Marine had moved its specialized barges for the job to the mainland.
"When they bid for the project, their barges were in Hawaii, but the contractor had to ship them back to mainland to use there," said Andrew Monden, DLNR Engineering Division chief engineer.
The soonest the dredging barges are expected to be back and ready for the Ala Wai is now this summer, Monden said.
He said the plan is to dredge the entire canal to a depth of 10 feet, over the course of about a year. An estimated 167,811 cubic yards will be disposed of at a deep-ocean site approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.
"The governor wants us to go as soon as possible," Monden said.
Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, indicated he is not happy about the delay.
"It's a shame," he said. "It's a day-to-day problem for the people who live in the area and everybody who has to pass the area. It looks awful. At low tide it's a mud flat with debris in it. It does not befit a community like Honolulu and Waikiki."
Monden said American Marine will stage the work so that canoe paddlers can continue to use portions of the canal during the work.
He said the end of the canal nearest Kapahulu Library, which has tested as the most contaminated part of the waterway, probably will be done last.
The canal was completed in 1925 and last dredged in 1978.
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