Access still a business concern during Rice Street construction

LIHU’E – General contractor Goodfellow Brothers, Inc. vows at least two lanes of Rice Street will remain open during daylight hours of construction to turn Lihu’e’s main drag into a four-lane road, and minimal obstruction of street accesses to various businesses and other entities along the length of the road during the construction period.

Still, some businesses along the street are concerned about access, the scheme to allow some onstreet parking during business hours, and how the upgrade will affect present offstreet parking.

The County of Kaua’i is in the process of hiring a construction manager for the project, and Goodfellow Brothers pledged to keep businesses apprised of the work schedule once it begins in July, said Laura Cushnie, Goodfellow’s Kaua’i manager.

The entire length of Rice Street, from its beginning near the Haleko Road intersection to its official end at Kapule Highway, will be transformed into a four-lane road, with each lane 11 feet wide.

Goodfellow Brothers has 300 working days, or roughly 60, five-day work weeks, to complete the work, but Cushnie figures by working at night, and working smart, they should be able to get the work done in much shorter fashion.

The new Rice Street will feature ample landscaping, new sidewalks where room permits with wheelchair ramps and signalized crosswalks at certain intersections, 12 parking stalls just off the street, and 31 onstreet parking stalls which between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays will see the road a three-lane configuration for much of its length.

The 11-foot-wide travel lanes were described as “cozy” Thursday by Karen Taketa, executive director of the Contractors Association of Kaua’i, during an informational session in the Historic County Building Council Chambers for contractors, impacted businesses, and others.

The travel lanes are around 12 feet wide now.

Gone will be left-turn holding lanes along the length of the road, as they have to be removed to make room for four lanes of traffic. Gone also will be the clangy storm drains vehicles must drive over while making the Rice Street trek today, Cushnie explained.

Goodfellow’s goal is to minimize public, business and community impact during the construction period, Cushnie told around 40 people at the meeting. Still, a good rule is that if you have an alternative route that avoids Rice Street, it would be a good idea to utilize it during the construction period, she added.

Going according to the contractual timetable, Cushnie explained that the first 100 days of the contract would be spent on various underground and above-ground utility work (drains, water lines, fire hydrants, etc.), with the second hundred days spent installing new curbs, gutters and sidewalks. The last 100 days will be the paving, striping and installing of signs along the new Rice Street.

Paving will be two lanes at a time, moving down Rice Street from the Haleko Road intersection on the Kalapaki-bound lanes, then turning around and returning to the Haleko Road intersection paving the Kukui Grove-bound lanes.

To keep people along the route informed of the work schedule and potential disruptions to be expected, weekly meetings are planned, as well as one-on-one chats with business owners to let them know exactly what kind of work is planned fronting their businesses during certain periods of the work, she said.

Cushnie said the contractor will work hard to keep businesses and the public informed during the duration of the $6.8 million project. “We want to be very proactive,” she said. During the work period, a 24-hour construction hotline will be established for complaints and information.

The greatest fear is the unknown. People just want to know what’s going on, she concluded.

Business Editor Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).