LIHU‘E — A new view for Wailua Beach is under way, and should be ready sometime in April. Much of the view of the beach from the highway will be obstructed by a three-foot, six-inch-tall cement wall extending almost the
LIHU‘E — A new view for Wailua Beach is under way, and should be ready sometime in April. Much of the view of the beach from the highway will be obstructed by a three-foot, six-inch-tall cement wall extending almost the entire length of the beach.
“The portion (of the multi-use path) should be complete in the next two months,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said in his State of the County address Monday.
When the $1.9 million Wailua Beach portion of the Ke Ala Hele Makalae, or the path that goes along the coast, is completed, southbound drivers will be able to see trees, shrub tops and a sliver of the Pacific Ocean, over the top of a rebar-reinforced concrete wall stamped with rock patterns.
Northbound drivers, closer to the wall, will get a better ocean view.
On Friday, county spokeswoman Mary Daubert said that although construction of the Wailua Beach portion of the path had some weather-related delays, “the projected completion is still sometime in April as we had originally said.”
A county press release in early January states construction of the path at Wailua Beach would be completed by March 29, and permanent re-striping of Kuhio Highway would be done from April 1 to 5.
Daubert said Friday the administration cannot guarantee the work will be finished by April 5, but anticipates that it will completed by the end of April.
Regarding Carvalho’s statement at his State of County address, Daubert said “the next two months” mentioned by the mayor includes March and April.
“We are targeting the end of April for completion of this segment,” Daubert said.
‘By 2015’
Daubert said Tuesday the portion of the path between Lihi Park in Kapa‘a to Foodland in Waipouli, including the portion by Moanakai Road, is estimated to be completed in June.
As far as linking all existing portions, it won’t happen until at least 2015, according to Carvalho.
“We are currently wrapping up preparation on the remaining portion between Papaloa and the Lihi Park, and expect to have the full length from Lydgate Park to Kuna Bay complete by 2015.”
Daubert clarified Tuesday Carvalho’s timeline. By saying “by 2015,” the mayor meant “during 2015,” she said.
Just how the segment between Lihi Park and Wailua Beach will be laid out is still unknown. Daubert said the administration is unable to tell how those portions of the path will connect, as “environmental planning is still under way.”
North of Kapa‘a, the private contractor hired by the county to build the Kawaihau Spur has finished the project a few months ago. But the spur is currently unusable.
The mid-section of the spur, roughly half of the entire spur, will be built by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, saving the county a substantial amount of money. But Daubert said there is no timeline for the work, as “the federal budget is in flux.”
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
