The state Department of Land and Natural Resources plans to use more than $90,000 to replace a collapsed concrete catwalk at the Port Allen Small Boat Harbor. To decrease the down time for a structure that is heavily used by
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources plans to use more than $90,000 to replace a collapsed concrete catwalk at the Port Allen Small Boat Harbor.
To decrease the down time for a structure that is heavily used by Westside Kaua‘i fishermen, work on a temporary structure was scheduled to start this week, DLNR official Debra Ward said in a statement.
Even after DLNR discovered the problem and closed down the catwalk — measuring about 40 feet — in spring of 2005, fishermen, needing to get to moored boats, continued using portions of the structure until last week when the collapse occurred.
In the wake of the break, at least four boats were attached to temporary moorings.
Ward said the agency’s division of boating and ocean recreation estimate it will take $56,200 to remove and dispose of the walkway and another $35,000 to replace it.
DLNR will tap its boating special fund for the work, which will involve the design of a temporary structure by Arnold Okubo and Associates, based in Hawai‘i, and the construction of the structure by O‘ahu-based Sea Engineering, through an emergency procurement process, Ward said.
A permanent structure will replace the temporary structure after DLNR receives capital improvement funds, Ward said.
For the emergency work, DLNR has posted a warning sign and barricade to prevent people from accessing any part of the catwalk, Ward said.
