WAILUA — County officials announced yesterday that the Wailua cane haul bridge can handle the load capacity of two traffic lanes and a bike lane.
Last month, the county closed the 70-year-old bridge for three consecutive weekends to test its load-bearing capacity.
“The Wailua cane haul bridge can indeed handle the load of two lanes of traffic and a bike lane,” Mayor Bryan Baptiste said in a press release from his office. “Now we can proceed with plans to build an Acrow-bridge on top of the cane haul bridge, which will help provide much-needed traffic relief in the Wailua area.”
A KSF contractor hired by the county tested three of the bridge’s piers to see how far they would settle under increased weight. With minimal measured deflection, engineers concluded that the built bridge is capable of carrying the expansion weight.
Previously, state Department of Transportation bridge maintenance crews did a preliminary check of the bridge’s pilings underwater to ensure there were no signs of excessive deterioration, the release states.
“When we first started the project, we researched the design of the Wailua cane haul bridge, and fortunately the drawings confirmed what we were looking for,” Doug Haigh, head of the Department of Public Works Building Division, said in the release. Haigh’s division is in charge of the county’s portion of the bridge project.
“Based on what we found, we decided to move forward with the Acrow-bridge concept,” he said.
The next phase of the project is finishing the preliminary design work for the Acrow-bridge, including the re-alignment of approaches to the bridge since it must now accommodate two lanes of northbound traffic, along with any land acquisitions deemed necessary for the bridge project, county officials said.
This is expected to be completed in September, while the final design work is due in March, thus ending the county’s role in the project. The state will then assume responsibility for the project.
County officials said there are still some requirements that have to be fulfilled before the final design work can begin, including filing an environmental assessment for the Lydgate to Kapa‘a portion of the bike and pedestrian path and the cane haul bridge, and completing a documented categorical exclusion exempting the state from having to file a federal EA.
Officials are optimistic the timeline can be met because all parties involved — federal, state and county — meet monthly to discuss the progress of the project and address problems that arise.
“At these meetings, there are 25 to 30 people who are working together to make sure things are moving forward,” Baptiste said in the release. “We don’t have to wait for answers because all the decision-makers are present.”
Once the state takes over, the project moves into the construction phase.
“We’re looking at the bid opening process to take place in October of next year,” Steven Kyono, Kaua‘i district engineer for the state DOT Highways Division, said in the release. “Once the notice to proceed is issued, the contractor will have 11 months to finish the project.”
Kyono said an incentive clause will be inserted in the contract so the Acrow-bridge could be completed sooner than the time allotted for the project.
Similar to the bridges in Wainiha on the North Shore, the Wailua Acrow-bridge will be constructed with a steel truss and treated for corrosion, and is expected to last between 20 to 25 years, the release states. It will serve as a temporary solution to ease traffic flow in the Kapa‘a-Wailua corridor while state transportation officials develop a long-range plan for the area.
Besides the Wailua cane haul bridge project, several other DOT projects on Kaua‘i aimed at mitigating traffic congestion are underway, like the widening of Kuhio Highway between the Wailua bridge and the Kapa‘a Bypass.
“Right now the consultant is designing the fourth lane as part of the condition for their project approval,” Kyono said in the release. “We’re targeting June of next year for completion of the design phase.”
Meanwhile, the paving of the northern leg of the temporary Kapa‘a bypass is nearing completion with a scheduled opening date of October.
In Lihu‘e, the widening of Kaumuali‘i Highway from two to four lanes between Rice and Anonui streets could go out to bid by next fall.
“We’re working on the preliminary design for this project,” Kyono said in the release. “The final design and review process should be finished in June of next year. So we’ll probably go out to bid in October 07.”
Construction on the Kaumuali‘i Highway project is slated to begin at the end of next year with completion anticipated in about two years, county officials said.
Finally, the DOT’s project to improve traffic flow at the Kuhio/Kapule highway junction should wrap up in about three months.
“Right now, we’re getting the lion’s share of federal funding for projects aimed at alleviating traffic congestion,” Baptiste said in the release.
