• ‘Olohena bridge ‘Olohena bridge The In Our View article of May 15, “‘Olohena Bridge and the future,” misses the mark on several counts. Today’s metal bridges are hot dipped galvanized, and have a weather-protective coating on them for durability
• ‘Olohena bridge
‘Olohena bridge
The In Our View article of May 15, “‘Olohena Bridge and the future,” misses the mark on several counts.
Today’s metal bridges are hot dipped galvanized, and have a weather-protective coating on them for durability —not like the ones built decades ago. One might say that the Model T Ford was a car, and so is the Ford Mustang, but the longevity factor is night and day.
The Acrow Bridge that was first proposed by Councilman Furfaro is an alternate (never looked at by this administration) to the $4.8-million, Taj-Mahal-style bridge that is being built. And this Acrow Bridge could be put in place (these bridges are built to be permanent and not temporary!) for about 1/5th the price of the cement one, would shut down ‘Olohena Road for one day, not five months or more as with the other one, take three weeks from start to finish, and are guaranteed for decades. They are built all over the world. The Wainiha #2 bridge is Acrow, as will the one be on the new Kapa‘a bypass road. These bridges are federally and state approved, so the argument that they won’t last is ludicrous.
And finally, no environmental assessment (EA) nor traffic study was ever done to find out if the small farm roads that thousands of vehicles will use as a detour route while the bridge is being built will carry all these vehicles. The police and the emergency-response people are on record as saying that these longer-distance routes will cause problems (possibly death), but their concerns were ignored.
The public is entitled to know why this Acrow Bridge was not an option or consideration before millions of dollars are spent on a bridge over a very small stream. And, remember that the existing bridge is 35 years old, went through two major hurricanes and many heavy rains, and is still standing – maybe weaker, but its cost was probably 50 to 100 thousand — not millions!
