Kokua Line June Watanabe

Still waters run deep into cost overruns

Answer: The earliest the pool and restrooms might reopen is probably April, but that's if all goes according to the current schedule.

The cost and time of construction have both increased significantly since the project started on Aug. 22, 2005. The initial cost was put at $582,000, and the targeted completion date was last April.

The revised cost is $821,971, said Eugene Lee, director of the city Department of Design and Construction.

The original contract called for adding a storage room, reroofing, renovating restrooms, tiling the swimming pool, plus other miscellaneous work.

However, the completion date was extended to last Sept. 3 because of additional work to replace the pool's light fixture housings, Lee said.

With the exception of tiling, all work is nearly completed, he said.

The tiling was delayed after "previously unidentified cracks" in the pool's concrete base were uncovered, following the removal of the pool plaster, he said.

The manufacturer of the ceramic tile bedding material needed to be consulted and all its concerns addressed to ensure that the tile work would be covered by a warranty, he said.

"At this time the cracks have been satisfactorily repaired to receive the ceramic tile, and we are presently waiting for the contractor to submit a revised schedule," Lee said.

If the tiling work is able to start early this month, work is estimated to be completed by late March, then turned over to the city Department of Parks and Recreation.

Q: How can we get the city to put back a bus stop at Beretania and Farrington streets that it took away in June? It was used by a lot of senior citizens, including people with canes and walkers, who go to Star Market nearby. Now, there is no bus stop on Beretania, between Isenberg and McCully streets, which is a very long walk. I tried to talk to the mayor, transportation officials and TheBus officials, but no one can give me an answer.

A: There are no plans to restore the stop because the city feels there is another one close enough to it.

The stop on Beretania and Farrington streets was "at an un-signalized 'T-intersection' and ... only about 450 feet from the stop at McCully Street, where there is a signalized intersection," said James Burke, chief of the city Public Transit Division.

The division has been involved in a bus stop realignment project, in which existing stops all over Oahu have been or are being reviewed. Stops that are located midblock or considered too close to one another are being removed.

"We are very much aware of the effect that bus stop realignment has on the bus riding community, and every consideration is made to minimize such effect," Burke said. "As much as we would like to accommodate every bus rider, the city's resources are limited."