KEKAHA — Boaters who launch out of Kikiaola Harbor on the Westside and have been waiting years for a much-needed dredging project will have to wait a few days longer after weather and ocean conditions this past week necessitated the rerouting of a construction barge from the harbor to Nawiliwili.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources announced early last week that dredging work within the small boat harbor would tentatively begin on Wednesday with the arrival of a dredge barge, but attempts to get the barge into the harbor were unsuccessful.
Joseph Bonfiglio, chief of public affairs for the Honolulu district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Friday that workers will try again today and that safety was the main concern.
Whenever the dredging does begin, the harbor will be closed daily, Monday through Friday, except for federal and state holidays from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., the DLNR said.
“We are allowing a one-hour window of opportunity for boaters to enter/exit the harbor during the day, so the harbor facilities can still be used while this much-needed dredging work continues,” said Laura Thielen, DLNR director, in the release.
In addition to the daily closures, the harbor may be periodically closed one week at a time. The first weeklong harbor closure was scheduled for this coming Monday through Friday, but how the delay affects those plans remains to be seen.
Any future weeklong closures will be announced in advance, the DLNR said.
The department said the project is expected to be completed by the end of July. Bonfiglio said the projected completion date is April.
Boaters may be inconvenienced in the interim, but they believe it is worth it to have a fully dredged, safe harbor to launch from and return to.
“We’re looking to get that thing dredged right, so … I hope they do more than less. We’re definitely not looking for a shortcut,” said longtime fisherman Greg Holzman on Friday. “I want that thing as deep and as much taken out of the harbor that we can do.
“We’ll have to work around it the best we can,” he said. “If that takes until July, that’s just the way it is.”
State Rep. Roland Sagum, D-16th District, said he continues to have conversations with the DLNR and Army Corps about how to best proceed with the project.
On Sept. 6, 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a construction contract for $18.77 million to Kiewit Pacific Company of Kapolei, O‘ahu for the Kikiaola Light Draft Harbor Project, according to the DLNR. The project, including breakwater improvements and dredging work, is a cost-share between federal and state entities.
For more construction-related activities inquiries, call Glenn Kusaka of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at (808) 438-1252. For other Kikiaola Small Boat Harbor project inquiries, call Sharon Nekoba of the DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation at (808) 587-3250.
