WAILUA HOME-STEADS — More than a week ago, a majority of members of the Kaua‘i County Council approved an additional $500,000 to accelerate the replacement of the 35-year-old bridge on ‘Olohena Road in four to five months. Most councilmembers were
WAILUA HOME-STEADS — More than a week ago, a majority of members of the Kaua‘i County Council approved an additional $500,000 to accelerate the replacement of the 35-year-old bridge on ‘Olohena Road in four to five months.
Most councilmembers were convinced their actions would be in the best interests of residents.
The installation of a new, concrete bridge, could be safely be used on a daily basis by thousands of residents who live in the Kawaihau District, the largest population area on Kaua‘i, most legislators reasoned.
Wrong, at least as far as Wailua Homesteads resident Glenn Mickens is concerned.
Joined by at least 40 residents at a recent council meeting on the matter, Mickens said the council’s action is “not a done deal.”
Mickens said he feels a galvanized-steel, ACROW bridge, as has been installed over the Wainiha River, should have been approved for use instead of a concrete one.
Mickens said he and other Wailua residents will continue to lobby the council to follow through on a recommendation by Councilman Jay Furfaro to buy an ACROW bridge or another bridge like it that can be used on a temporary or permanent basis in the replacement of other old, county bridges.
Furfaro had also proposed county leaders undertake a maintenance program for county bridges.
On Friday, Mickens and Eugene R. Sobecki, a national sales manager for ACROW Bridges, a New Jersey-based bridge manufacturer, visited the ‘Olohena Road bridge.
Sobecki was on island to check out the ACROW bridge that was installed to replace one of the three Wainiha bridges of Kuhio Highway. The condition of one of the Wainiha bridges was so deteriorated that Gov. Linda Lingle issued emergency funds for its replacement.
Sobecki said the ACROW bridge that was put in place there is in top shape, and that he hopes that the other two existing Wainiha bridges can be replaced with his company’s bridges in the future.
In the 2005-0007 biennium budget sent to Lingle for approval earlier this week, state legislators voted to set aside $25 million to replace all three bridges, which offer the only way to Wainiha, Ha‘ena, and the end of the road at Ha‘ena State Park where Na Pali Coast Trail begins.
When emergency bridge-replacement work was done on the bridge, residents were shuttled across the Wainiha River in small boats.
The replacement of the ‘Olohena Road bridge will be done at a cost of between $4.2 million and $4.8 million by Unlimited Construction Services Inc., a Kaua‘i contractor.
Of that amount, $3.2 million will come from the Federal Highway Administration, and another $850,000 and more will come from Kaua‘i County.
Mickens and Sobecki said the majority of the councilmembers who supported the $500,000 may have opted for the concrete bridge because people have the perception that the ACROW bridges are primarily used in emergencies or on a temporary basis.
“We get misunderstood. When the word “temporary” gets around, there is the connotation (the ACROW bridge) will last only a few years,” Sobecki said. “Bridges (such as the ACROW bridges) have been put in an emergency job, and they never come out.”
The galvanized-steel bridges have been used as permanent bridges, and are still in use after “20, 30 and 40 years,” Sobecki said.
The ACROW bridge can be used as a temporary structure, too, he said. They also can be put on top of existing bridges that need replacement.
“We design permanent bridges which can be used in temporary applications,” Sobecki said. His company has been in business since 1951.
The company bridges are manufactured in Pennsylvania, and have been used in Puerto Rico, Africa, and Central and South America. Ten of his company bridges are found on O‘ahu, the Big Island and Kaua‘i.
One of his company bridges will be built across a stream as part of the extension of the Kapa‘a bypass road, Sobecki said.
On O‘ahu, one of his company bridges has been put on Kamehameha Highway, just across the road from the entry to the Arizona Memorial, Sobecki said. The bridge spans 270 feet.
More ACROW bridges are not used on a permanent basis in the United States because “of aesthetics,” Sobecki said.
But the galvanized, steel ACROW bridges are sturdy, and are nearly rust-proof, Sobecki said.
Officials with the American Galvanized Association conducted a study that showed bridges like the ones his company builds will have only 5 percent rust after 50 years, Sobecki said.
Using the ACROW bridge would have saved the county millions of dollars, Mickens said. But county officials said they preferred to go with the more expensive concrete bridge because it looks good, and because federal funds were available to build a bridge that would last generations.
Sobecki said his company bridge could last as long, and would have cost between $125,000 to $187,000 to bring the ACROW bridge to Kaua‘i. The cost of installation would be separate, he said.
The bridge can be installed in three weeks or longer, depending on approval of roads, installation of pilings for the foundation, and geotechnical reports, Sobecki said. The company mantra, he said, is “Get in, get it built, and get out.”
Where traffic will be shut down for four to five months while the new concrete bridge goes up, traffic over ‘Olohena Stream would be halted only two days while the new ACROW bridge goes in, Sobecki said. Mickens said those interested in working with him to encourage the county to buy an ACROW bridge should call him at 822-0998.
- Information on the ACROW bridge may be found on www.acrowusa.com.
