Night road work unlikely near homes A state official all but promised Wednesday that a plan to allow work on the Rice Street widening to go on all-night beneath nearby residents’ bedroom windows is “not going to happen.” Instead, a
Night road work unlikely near homes
A state official all but promised Wednesday that a plan to allow work on the Rice Street widening to go on all-night beneath nearby residents’ bedroom windows is “not going to happen.”
Instead, a compromise allowing after-dark construction in commercial areas of the street appears likely in an attempt to satisfy merchants who want the project to end as soon as possible so business can get back to normal.
Goodfellow Brothers, general contractor for the $6.8 million project, applied to the state Department of Health for permission to work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on the portion of Rice between Kress Street and Kapule Highway. Residents in the area object, saying the sleep of as many as 700 people would be disrupted by the noise. They also said their health could suffer.
Goodfellow, which has 14 months under a Kaua’i County contract to finish widening Rice and making other street improvements, contends it can finish faster by working at night. The contractor already has approval for night work on some parts of the street.
But the same go-ahead apparently won’t be given for the portion of Rice fronting the Lihu’e Townhouse and Kalapaki Villas condominiums
Daryn Yamada, noise supervisor for the Oahu-based noise, radiation and indoor air-quality branch of the health department, said the agency is trying to balance residents’ and businesses’ interests. A final decision on the Goodfellow request is not expected until late this week or early next week, but he said all-night work probably won’t be allowed near homes.
“At this point, it looks like it’s not going to happen,” Yamada said.
Upper-level department officials will make the final call.
Yamada said he has visited the road construction site and seen the close proximity of residences where Goodfellow hopes to work at night.
The overall noise disturbance of the construction is figuring in the review of Goodfellow’s request. Decibel levels aren’t a factor, since noise from road work varies, Yamada said.
Petitions opposing the night work have been circulated among residents and presented to officials.
Yamada said the amount of public outcry has been higher than usual for road projects.
Editor Pat Jenkins can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 227) and mailto:pjenkins@pulitzer.net
