Wailua bridge to open Wednesday

WAILUA — Several months behind initial schedule, the new bridge in Wailua will open next week its first lane, Bow Construction Management announced on Friday. The bridge was supposed to open in the fall of 2010.

“One lane of the new, two-lane Wailua Cane Haul Bridge will open permanently for northbound vehicular traffic on Wednesday … after contra flow ends at 8:30 a.m.,” Bow Construction officials said in a press release.

The speed limit on the new panel bridge that extends across the Wailua River mouth will be 15 miles per hour. After the entire project is completed, Department of Transportation engineers will consider raising the speed limit to 25 miles per hour, the release stated.

In addition to the new lane on the bridge, there will be two lanes of traffic on Kuhio Highway, one northbound and one southbound.

Bow Construction said sporadic lane closures will happen throughout April in the bridge area while construction crews replace the sidewalk along the highway.

Drivers are advised to continue to check local media and watch for updates on the electronic message boards on either side of the construction zone.

The second northbound lane of the new cane haul bridge and the bike/pedestrian path on the makai side of the bridge are expected to be open to the public in summer 2011, according to Bow Construction.

Night closures

Night work and lane closures will take place on Kuhio Highway near Wailua Bridge April 4-7, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Drivers are advised to use caution when driving through the area and to watch for flagmen and electronic message boards for safety. The speed limit in the construction zone is 15 miles per hour.

Construction crews working in the area thank the public for patience and understanding, a press release stated.

Call Alex Pascual of Bow Construction Management Service at (808) 212-9885, or Sujatha Ramaraju of Unlimited Builders at (808) 212-9903 for more information.