By TOM CALLIS
By TOM CALLIS
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Work may begin next week on replacing a sewer underneath Kalanianaole Avenue in Hilo.
A detour has been up on the road between Keaa and Silva streets since Aug. 20 to keep traffic off a segment of the deteriorating pipe.
The work itself has been dependent on the arrival of construction materials, though Hawaii County says the project remains on schedule.
“Basically, we moved it up 2-3 weeks” due to the detour, said Lyle Hirota, acting Wastewater Division chief.
Hirota said the county is waiting for some “bypass fittings” that would be used to divert the pipe’s flow around any issues that may occur during construction.
“That way the flow can be pumped around the problem area,” he said.
Hirota said they may arrive next week, which would allow the work to begin.
“If not next week, we hope the following week,” he said.
The $7.5 million project, awarded to Isemoto Contracting Co., is scheduled to begin this month and last through April.
In total, 4,800 feet off the half-century-old pipe will be repaired by inserting a new pipe inside it.
The new pipe will be smaller but have less friction.
The work will occur in phases between Keaa Street and Baker Avenue.
The new pipe is scheduled to be in place around December, though road paving may take a couple months.
Full site restoration is scheduled for April.
Detours are expected to be in place through December.
Rubber speed bumps are also expected to be in place along detour routes through residential neighborhoods to control traffic.
Police have been stationed at the current detour 24 hours a day.
Hirota said the cost for their presence is built into the project.
Starting the detour earlier than expected will add $32,000 to the project, he said.
“They are primarily there so that if a car gets in an accident (at the construction site) … then at least there’s someone there to manage that,” Hirota said.
Traffic was diverted before construction began due to higher levels of hydrogen sulfide in the pipe in that area, he said.
“It was just a precautionary thing,” he said. “… the pipe was more deteriorated than originally anticipated.”
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.