Kapiolani repairs to
shut down lanes
Emergency work will leave
the street partly closed
for two months
A two-month emergency sewer-line repair project will shut down lanes on Kapiolani Boulevard, one of Honolulu's busiest thoroughfares, starting tonight.
Workers will close the middle lanes -- one in each direction -- of the six-lane Kapiolani Boulevard between Atkinson Drive and Kaheka Street at 7 p.m. tonight for the first phase of repairs, which is expected to take about 20 days.
The lanes will remain closed during the repairs. There will also be no morning or evening rush-hour contraflow on the boulevard beginning tomorrow, and nighttime parking will be eliminated on both sides of the boulevard until the section is completed. Left turns will be prohibited.
The same traffic and parking disruptions will also be in effect during two other phases of the Kapiolani project, which stretches from the Hawai'i Convention Center to McKinley High School.
"We're going to get in and get out as fast as possible," said city spokeswoman Carol Costa. "What we're asking motorists to do is be aware of this. ... If necessary, take an alternate route."
Crews will work around the clock -- all day, every day -- until the project is completed. And work will center on the area's 60- to 80-year-old underground sewer pipes, which recent surveys have shown require immediate attention.
In all, about 1,300 feet of piping will be replaced or repaired.
City Environmental Services Director Frank Doyle said the project was designed with drivers in mind, and crews will disrupt traffic as little as possible.
"There'll be some inconvenience, of course," he said. "It's a project on a major thoroughfare."
He also said city officials will be closely watching Kapiolani Boulevard tomorrow to gauge how the repair work affects traffic flow.
"I think we'll have a good sense (then) as to how things are shaping up," he said. "It's a project that has to be done. It's part of our work to keep the sewer system in ready shape."
The second phase of the project runs from Kaheka to Keeaumoku streets and is expected to take 25 days. The final repairs section between Pensacola and Sheridan streets is the shortest and will last for about two weeks.
The project is expected to be completed in late October. This week, it coincides with other city repairs along Kapiolani Boulevard.
Emergency resurfacing of the thoroughfare between Kalakaua Avenue and Date Street is scheduled for tomorrow through Friday, from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Work on manholes and traffic loop sensors is set for tomorrow through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Costa said the sewer project, which starts at the Atkinson Drive intersection and ends up near Pensacola Street, does not include sections of Kapiolani Boulevard that were repaved earlier this year. Costa did not have an estimate on how much the project would cost.
The pipe work is part of a wider maintenance plan for the boulevard that also includes the replacement of water lines, which will start next year. Road resurfacing will follow, Costa said.
