Three ready for replacement sooner or later The press release from Kaua’i County said the work to repair wooden planks on the bridge at the uppermost intersection of Kawaihau and Kahuna roads in Kapahi would last from 8 a.m. to
Three ready for replacement sooner or later
The press release from Kaua’i County said the work to repair wooden planks on the bridge at the uppermost intersection of Kawaihau and Kahuna roads in Kapahi would last from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The Department of Public Works crew was long gone before 1 p.m., however. They left behind three new planks in an old bridge scheduled to be replaced by a new, concrete span within one to two years.
The existing one-lane bridge, over Kapa’a Stream amid a rural, upcountry mix of homes and pastures, isn’t the county’s top bridge-replacement priority, explained Russell Sugano of Public Works.
The next two bridges to be replaced are the wooden structure near the Koloa Road end of ‘Oma’o Road, and a concrete and steel structure over Kalama Stream on Pu’uopae Road, near its intersections with Kalama and Kipapa roads, also in Kapahi, Sugano said.
The designs for the new bridges are complete, though the county is working with Koloa Community Association in an attempt to address that group’s desire to have a detour route constructed during the bridge work.
The ‘Oma’o Road bridge is over an intermittent stream that for several years has been a dry stream bed, Sugano said.
Where the Pu’uopae Road bridge is concerned, some specifications and plans need a bit of fine tuning, he said.
The bridge over Kapa’a Stream that was fixed Tuesday won’t be replaced until federal funds can be secured and a design is finalized, Sugano said.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
