By HUNTER BISHOP
By HUNTER BISHOP
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
A main sewer line beneath Kalanianaole Avenue in Keaukaha is in such bad shape that the county removed one lane of traffic from the road and moved up the schedule of work on the decaying pipe.
Work was expected to begin next month, but cones were set up Monday to restrict traffic on Kalanianaole to one Hilo-bound lane only, while detouring Keaukaha-bound traffic on to Kamehameha Avenue and Silva Street back to Kalanianaole.
Doug Arnott, owner of Arnott’s Lodge in Keaukaha, complained Thursday that the detour is up but there appears to be no work going on. He said the county was going to great expense to detour vehicles resulting in a traffic mess, but “there’s no work being done in the turned-off section.”
Lyle Hirota, the county’s acting chief of the Wastewater Division, said the worsening condition of the pipe prompted decisions to make the traffic changes and move up the start date of the project, which earlier was set to begin in September.
In use for close to a half century, the concrete pipe has deteriorated over the years from the effects of sewer gas, Hirota said. Recent evidence indicating that the corrosion was more extensive than originally thought led to concerns that the pipe could be in danger of imminent failure. So the decision was made to take the traffic load off the portion of Kalanianaole Avenue that impacts the sewer line. “Basically we wanted to get the heavy vehicular traffic off the pipe,” Hirota said. “It’s precautionary.”
The detour will remain in effect until the pipe is repaired between Keaa Street and Kuhio Avenue during this first phase of the project, expected to be complete by October.
The “sliplining” method being used to repair the pipe also doesn’t require as much removal of the road surface as it would to take the old line out of the ground and replace it. A 34-inch fiberglass pipe is inserted into the old 42-inch line and pushed through, Hirota said. Only a few openings spaced along the sewer line route will be needed to install the new pipe.
Patrick Kahawaiolaa, president of the Keaukaha Neighborhood Association, said the disruption is minimal now, but he’s more worried about the next phase of the project that will detour traffic through several of Keaukaha’s residential streets. He said that Keaukaha School students’ breakfasts and lunches that come by truck from Hilo High School could get caught in traffic, for example.
“Right now, it’s not really a problem,” Kahawaiolaa said, though he said Arnott’s observations are “basically correct.”
“The detour is up but there’s no shovels in the ground,” Kahawaiolaa said. “I think it’s an educational process. Makes a helluva lot of sense.”
Kahawaiolaa’s worst fear is a catastrophic failure of the line that spills sewage into Puhi Bay. “That’s not acceptable.” He’s willing to accept the temporary inconveniences related to the project if it means preventing a spill. “It’s important,” he said.
Kahawaiolaa said he’s pleased that communications are good between the association, county officials and Isemoto Contracting Co., the contractor on the job. “They’re pretty open.”
About 4,800 feet of new pipe will be installed along Kalanianaole Avenue between Keaa and Baker streets. The entire $7.5 million project is expected to take seven months.
Email Hunter Bishop at hbishop@hawaiitribune-herald.com.