|
Cruising along
Work to replace a Kauai bridge
offers residents a holiday
and a bit of nostalgia
LIHUE » For 24 hours yesterday, Kauai's North Shore stepped back in time.
State transportation officials closed Kuhio Highway to replace one of three bridges spanning the Wainiha River. They had expected cries of protest from the 2,000 residents who would be cut off from the rest of the island.
Instead, the stranded residents treated the day as a holiday, taking the day off from work and school. And tourists said the road closure added a bit of adventure to their trips.
|
A few elderly residents said it was a return to the old days, when boats were used to cross streams and rivers after flooding closed the area's bridges. For them it was a chance to indulge in nostalgia.
The residents of the Haena area, which was temporarily isolated, are a mix of local families who have lived there for many generations, and wealthy retirees building expensive new homes.
Among those who jumped in to assist was Joseph Kauo, who helped residents get aboard a makeshift ferryboat throughout the day.
"I just saw this was very slippery and dangerous getting into that boat, so I've been helping out," he said.
The bridge was the worst of many along the same route that have deteriorated in recent years. Overweight trucks making late-night runs have worsened the problem, and the state has tried to stop them with portable weigh stations during the past month.
But the deteriorating bridges also have created a problem for emergency vehicles. The Fire Department pumper that serves the area weighs three times the 6-ton limit of the bridges.
The new bridge, the middle of three that cross the Wainiha River where it enters the ocean, is missing the trademark white wooden guardrails and planks of the other two. It is made of prefabricated steel, and its surface is covered with asphalt.
State officials closed the road Tuesday night, reopened it Wednesday and closed it again for 24 hours yesterday morning as workers put together the new bridge.
The sudden flurry of activity on what is normally the sleepiest part of the island drew a crowd.
The motorboat being used as a ferry was in constant use, carrying residents home with groceries and youngsters, who skipped school and went surfing east.
The Transportation Department did not have an estimate for replacing the bridge, although it will be into the hundreds of thousands of dollars when the work is completed.
And, like the wooden bridges that have been there for decades, the state is calling the new bridge temporary.
