Ahead of schedule

KAPAA — The seawall fronting the Pono Kai Resort in Kapaa has been dedicated — below budget and ahead of schedule.

“This was a collaborative effort between a lot of people,” said Nadine Nakamura, the county’s managing director.

The repair work for the seawall was dedicated Friday, marking an end to the project which came in around $900,000, according to Doug Haigh, a county engineer. This is less than the $1.2 million budgeted for the work, which was started on Sept. 8.

“We had a good crew led by Jeff Orsatelli, supervisor,” said Goodfellow Bros. project manager Connie Meyer. “We had until the end of February to complete this work, but we’re dedicating the project today. During the work, we had water quality control monitors in place. But through the entire project, there was not a day of dirty water, something people were concerned about.”

Orange safety net screening is in place to keep people from disturbing the freshly laid grass and mulch, a change from its former use of keeping people away from the eroding seawall, which in April was being monitored for hazardous conditions due to a sinkhole which developed where a portion of the seawall once stood.

On Friday, Peter Sit, general manager of Pono Kai, said, “They just put in the grass for the seawall repair. During the repair work, we let them use a right of way. That should be repaired from its brown condition due to wear, and it should be done in the next 60 days.”

The seawall has had a history of repairs dating back to 2007 when Oceanit, a Honolulu-based engineering consulting firm, advised the Kauai County Council to authorize repair work which would prevent the 600-foot wall from collapsing.

Haigh said he felt confident the repair work would stop the erosion which had been taking place.

“They filled in the areas in the back of the wall,” he said. “The materials they used and the fact there is backfill should stop the eroding.”