The replacement of the Olohena Bridge in Kapa‘a is moving along as scheduled with structural pieces of the bridge trucked to the site this week. However, critics of the project, like Wailua Homesteads resident Glenn Mickens, say they still feel
The replacement of the Olohena Bridge in Kapa‘a is moving along as scheduled with structural pieces of the bridge trucked to the site this week.
However, critics of the project, like Wailua Homesteads resident Glenn Mickens, say they still feel the traffic delays caused by the rerouting of vehicles during the bridge work is upsetting the life of area residents. Mickens proposed a metal bridge that could have been erected quickly, he says. Instead the County of Kaua‘i went with a concrete bridge that has a longer life span.
The County of Kaua‘i decided earlier this year to replace the 35-year-old bridge due to its age and deteriorating condition.
The bridge replacement work started in June and is anticipated to be completed October or November.
During the work, motorists, to their chagrin, have seen their drive time increase by ten minutes or more through the Kawaihau District, the busiest neighborhood on the island, according to Mickens and others.
“We have continual fender benders along our road,” Mickens told The Garden Island. “These roads weren’t meant for 2,400 vehicles a day. “This is what people mostly screamed about when they testified before the (Kaua‘i County) Council,” he said.
Security guards have been posted near the bridge to divert traffic, and that will continue until after the new bridge goes up.
Unlimited Construction Services won the contract to replace the old bridge. The Federal Highway Administration put up more than $3 million, while the county put up $850,000, of which $500,00 was recently approved by the council to expedite the work, originally scheduled to take a year.
Mickens said the work that is going on is admirable, but he emphasized a portable metal-type bridge or a culvert-style bridge could have been installed more cheaply and more quickly than the current replacement bridge going up.
The County of Kaua‘i is saying the current bridge is going up — one of more mass — because of durability and aesthetics. Critics said the temporary bridges are just as durable. The more simple bridges could have worked as well, Mickens believes, because the bridge is going over a “ditch, and not a stream.”
Mickens said also that it doesn’t appear to him that work is going on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in line with the purpose of the additional $500,000 in county funds that were approved to expedite the work.
Sticking to that schedule is not necessarily a requirement, said Randy Finlay, vice president of Unlimited.
“We have the prerogative to work 24 hours, seven days a week, and we do so on certain activities,” Finlay told The Garden Island. “However, there are certain cure times, required by specifications, and we can’t work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Finlay said his crew squeezes as many hours out of the day as possible.
“We do have a dedicated crew taking advantage of every productive hour available, and we are happy to report we are a little bit ahead of schedule,” he said. “Two abutments are completed, and the seven main girders were successfully placed on Monday.”
Mary Daubert, the public information officer for Kaua‘i County said the bulk of the work that needs to be done includes installation of waterlines, a drain line and girders, construction of a bridge deck, installation of railing and guardrails, construction of bridge approaches and reconstruction of parts of Olohena Road.
Daubert said the contractor is working within the budget allotted for the project.
- Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and lchang@ kauaipubco.com.
