Sewer work to disrupt Beretania, Ward traffic

The night work will last about a month

For about a month beginning Monday, night traffic around Ward Avenue and Beretania Street will be a nightmare -- as a sewer tunnel built in the 1930s that runs under Ward is repaired to prevent it from collapsing.

Yesterday, the city announced that emergency repairs will be done on about 200 feet of the old sewer tunnel that stretches under Ward from Kinau to Beretania, an area near key ramps to the H-1 freeway that are choked at commuter rush hour.

At a cost of about $900,000, the repair work on the 5-by-5-foot concrete tunnel will be performed at night beginning at 7:30 p.m. and ending about 5 a.m., according to Myron Fujimoto, an engineer with the city.

"It definitely needs to be fixed," Fujimoto said of the tunnel, which has mostly been replaced by another sewer tunnel that is 78 inches in diameter that was installed in the early 1990s. He said the old tunnel will be fixed with metal liner plates that will cover up any crevices in the old concrete for needed support.

Fujimoto said the new line installed in the 1990s diverts most of what ran through the old tunnel, but that the old tunnel still manages "some small flows."

He said problems with the old tunnel were discovered several months ago when a contractor working for the Gas Co. found some "voids."

As a result, he said, the city investigated and found that the old concrete was deteriorating and that there were two "significant holes," in addition to several smaller ones.

Fujimoto said that during the repair work, the city will post large flashing message boards to alert motorists about delays and the hours of work.

For those looking for an alternate entrance to the H-1 freeway eastbound, try the Piikoi Street or Vineyard Boulevard onramps.