State will replace
rickety bridge
LIHUE » A temporary span to replace the increasingly rickety Wainiha River Bridge No. 2 on Kauai's North Shore will be in place by the end of November, state and Kauai County officials said yesterday.
Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona and Mayor Bryan Baptiste held a joint news conference in Lihue to announce that an emergency order had been signed by Gov. Linda Lingle allowing for replacement of the bridge.
The three Wainiha bridges are among 11 bridges and culverts along Kauai's North Shore that have been deteriorating rapidly in recent years. A plan is being developed for their permanent replacement.
At 100 feet, Wainiha River Bridge No. 2 is the longest and most dangerous of the bridges. It recently was downgraded to a 6-ton limit by highway engineers. But since then some new major buckling in the wood surface of the bridge was discovered.
Wainiha River Bridge No. 1 to the east has an 8-ton limit, while Wainiha River Bridge No. 3 to the west has a 6-ton limit.
One of the major problems has been the use of the bridges by trucks hauling construction equipment and materials late at night. A state crew cited one truck weighing 12 tons yesterday evening.
The temporary span will be built atop the existing bridge but will not rest on it. It will have its own supports. Made of steel, it will be pre-assembled and then set in place by Hawaiian Dredging Co.
The road will be closed for one to two days, and emergency officials are exploring the possibility of stationing a firetruck on the west side of the bridge during construction.
Several major tourist attractions including a resort, Haena County Beach Park and Kee Beach State Park are west of the bridge and will be cut off from the island for one or two days.
Parts of the bridge, which is manufactured by Acrow Panel Bridges, are expected to arrive on Kauai in late October.
Aiona said the timetable might have to be set back because the project is competing for bridge materials in high demand in Florida to repair hurricane damage.
