Question: After months and months of "steel plates," Ala Moana Boulevard (Atkinson to Kalakaua) was resurfaced for APEC. Why is Ala Moana once again being demolished? Now the beautiful road before and after the Hobron intersection has been dug up and covered with steel plates again.
Answer: It was torn up again because the work was not completed, just put on hold during two planned hiatus periods — APEC in November and the holiday season from mid-December to January.
The project — which will cost upward of $37 million — entails relocating utility cables underground and installing new decorative street light fixtures from the Ala Wai Canal bridge to Fort Street to match lighting in Waikiki to provide "a nostalgic look from the days of old Hawaii," said Dan Meisenzahl, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana Boulevard Resurfacing and Highway Lighting Replacement Project will continue at least through the end of the year.
"The vast majority of the work by the contractor in the Waikiki area has already been completed," Meisenzahl said. The remaining work is expected to be completed in the next couple of months.
However, he said work in Waikiki will continue, as utility crews relocate above-ground cabling through new underground conduits.
"The utilities are then responsible for removing the utility poles, and then our contractor will go in and fix the sidewalk where the poles once stood," he said. "For this phase of the project, work will be determined by the utility companies and their individual schedules."
Utility work might continue past December.
Meanwhile, Meisenzahl said the DOT’s contractor has begun work westward to Fort Street. Ala Moana will be resurfaced between Holomoana and Piikoi streets. Curbs and sidewalks will be reconstructed, and new concrete bus pads will be installed, along with new road striping and pavement markings.
There will also be trenching to put in new conduits to move utility lines underground and remove utility poles.
This part of the project is targeted for completion in December.
The estimated project cost of $37 million will increase "because of all of the unexpected problems (with the water table) we faced in Waikiki that caused a lot of delays," Meisenzahl said.
The federal government will pick up 73 percent of the cost, with the utilities paying 7 percent and the state, 20 percent.
Question: I live in Halawa Valley, and someone has thrown a pair of tennis shoes over the cable or power lines. How do I get them removed? It really is an eyesore to look out my window and see it every day. Who can I contact?
Answer: Call Hawaiian Electric Co. at 548-7961 and the shoes will be removed as soon as is "practical."
HECO told us previously that shoes tossed over power lines — a form of graffiti known as "shoefiti" — are more eyesores than hazards, unlike Mylar balloons, which might actually cause a power failure (see is.gd/kokualine05242007).
The danger would come if someone other than a HECO worker tries to remove them.
Auwe
To whoever stole the guardian bell from my motorcycle. I am devastated. My husband passed away in August, and that bell was one of his last gifts to me. It’s pewter, with the Hawaiian Islands and my aumakua honu (family or personal god in the form of a turtle) on it. It reminded me of my husband and how he supported me but never rode himself. To the thief, please give it back. It’s bad bachi as biker bells are almost always gifts and are for protection against evil spirits and pothole demons. People, please think before you take from others. You hurt your own spirit, and the pain you cause frequently can’t be measured in dollars. — Michel Grotstein
Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
