Anticipating a denial of a request to work at night in the residential district, Goodfellow Brothers has had to revise its Rice Street project work schedule. Myles Mizokami, Goodfellow project manager, told the Lihu’e Business Association last week that the
Anticipating a denial of a request to work at night in the residential district, Goodfellow Brothers has had to revise its Rice Street project work schedule.
Myles Mizokami, Goodfellow project manager, told the Lihu’e Business Association last week that the work, originally estimated to take at least eight months, will likely now require a year to complete.
And the discovery last week of some water pipes not shown on any county maps has caused the general contractor to revise its work schedule further.
Laura Cushnie, Goodfellow’s Kaua’i manager, said it’s common to come upon unchronicled water pipes and other impediments not shown on maps or plans during road demolition work.
Ed Tschupp, deputy manager of the Kaua’i County Department of Water, said pipes were installed over the years that weren’t well-documented. Goodfellow will record on maps what is being found now, he added.
Still, the Rice work so far is on schedule, with a crew of around 15 men working on the widening job, Mizokami said.
Installation of underground drainage pipes must take place from the low end to the high end of the project, which is why much of the work has been focused on the Kapule Highway end of Rice Street, Cushnie explained.
Once the current portion of the work progresses toward Historic County Building, past the Rice Street intersection with Kress Street, the contractor will gear up for night work as well as day operations, Cushnie said.
Goodfellow has state Department of Health permission via a noise variance permit to work nights (9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday) along the non-residential portion of the project – that is, Kress Street up through the project’s completion point at Haleko Road.
While Goodfellow and health officials are still talking regarding Goodfellow’s application for a noise variance to do night work along the residential portion of Rice Street (Kress Street to Kapule Highway), Mizokami said the initial indication from the state is that application will likely be denied.
A Goodfellow crew accidentally hit and ruptured a county water line a few weeks ago, disrupting service to the Dairy Maid of Kaua’i restaurant across from Rice Shopping Center.
Working with the restaurant owner so as not to disrupt business, a water department crew took two hours, from around 3 to 5 p.m., to fix the broken pipe after the damage was called in about 1 p.m., Tschupp said.
As the road work progresses, continued delays are inevitable, according to the county.
Work on the drain installation will continue this week on Rice Street between Ace Hardware and Hardy Street. Similar traffic patterns to those experienced last week can be expected, according to the county.
Relocation of underground wastewater infrastructure will be taking place in the vicinity of Lihu’e Townhouse.
Near ‘Umi Street, installation of manholes will continue this week.
The county and Goodfellow Brothers ask for the public’s cooperation in observing posted speed limits throughout the construction zone. Motorists should use extra caution when driving on Rice, especially during the hours of construction, officials said.
Additional parking for Rice Street businesses is available at Kaua’i War Memorial Convention Hall.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
