Question: I am wondering what’s happening with the construction of the pedestrian bridge over Ala Moana Boulevard near its intersection with Ward Avenue. It was supposed to be completed in October, but I’m wondering if it will be delayed since there doesn’t yet appear to be a whole lot of progress.
Answer: Yes, the estimated completion date has been pushed back to February, according to the state Department of Transportation, which issued upcoming lane closures for the project.
Starting July 24, the left lanes on both sides of Ala Moana Boulevard between Ward Avenue and Kamakee Street will be closed 24/7, through Sept. 22, the department said in a news release Friday. “Two lanes of traffic on Ala Moana Boulevard will remain open in both directions; however, a temporary detour will be provided around the work zone via Auahi Street to mitigate delays,” it said.
The 24/7 lane closures are needed so crews can build a pier in the median to support an elevated pedestrian walkway over Ala Moana Boulevard from mauka to makai. Work on this project began in May 2022 and was originally expected to wrap up this October.
Q: Power washing the Wahiawa Transit Center is helpful, but what about the chickens? As long as they are there, droppings will continue to be a problem.
A: A state contractor will remove the feral chickens, which migrated to the shaded ground level of the two-story, open-air Central Oahu bus station after trees were cut down on the adjacent land where they used to roam. The trees were cleared to make way for construction of a new Wahiawa Civic Center, which will house a mix of state and county government services.
After receiving complaints about unsanitary conditions at the bus station, caused by feral chickens and other problems, we emailed the city’s Department of Transportation Services, which runs the transit center, on Wednesday, and on Thursday we emailed the Department of Accounting and General Services, because the chickens migrated from state land. Both responded the same day we contacted them, although we received DAGS’ response after we had turned in our previous column on this topic.
So, to close the loop: The DAGS spokesperson said the state will have its contractor remove the feral chickens. We followed up on Friday with the DTS spokesperson, who said that a city contractor power-washed the facility Wednesday evening, based on readers’ complaints.
Q: Who won the revote on the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board?
A: Incumbent Paige K. Altonn, by a vote of 66-41 over challenger Dylan Buck, according to results certified by the Neighborhood Commission. A revote was held for Subdistrict 11 of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board because technical problems prevented some voters from casting their online ballots the first time around. Only 31 votes were counted then, barely more than the 28 failed voting attempts documented by the commission and far below the usual turnout. All votes in the first round were scrapped — Buck had 17 and Altonn 14 — and a new online election was held for the subdistrict, which includes Koko Head and Portlock.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Navy Exchange staff. Thursday night we went there just before closing. My son tried on some pants. In doing so, he removed his wallet with his ID and passport, and left it in the changing room. We then headed to the airport for his flight back to his university in Vancouver, British Columbia. Discovering the ID missing, we rushed back to the store, which was closed and locked up. Security staff and workers after hours retrieved his wallet and he did not miss his flight. Mahalo. — WDL
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
