LIHUE — What costs more, a handful of new homes or a 125-foot wooden bridge? Apparently, the price could be just about the same. County Engineer Larry Dill said at a Kauai County Council meeting this week that the rebuilding
LIHUE — What costs more, a handful of new homes or a 125-foot wooden bridge?
Apparently, the price could be just about the same.
County Engineer Larry Dill said at a Kauai County Council meeting this week that the rebuilding of Kapaia Swinging Bridge would cost, by conservative estimates, $1.35 million — $150,000 for both towers and $1.2 million for the rest of the bridge.
“You can’t be serious about that,” Council Chair Jay Furfaro said of the cost that a consultant hired by the county came up with for the rest of the bridge.
“If I built a 1,000-square-foot home at $225 a square foot, with that money I could build five homes — five homes,” he said.
The numbers presented by Dill on Wednesday are considerably higher than what he told the council a month ago, when he said the preliminary estimate to replace both towers was about $100,000, and another $100,000 would cover the cost of replacing the rest of the bridge.
“We have got very different numbers from our consultant and from our contractors we have been talking to,” Dill said.
Furfaro said he understands the $1.35 million figure is what the consultants gave Dill, and asked him “to sharpen the number for the bridge.”
The Kapaia Swinging Bridge was built in 1948, replacing a foot bridge washed up in a 1941 flood. In September 2006, the county deemed the bridge unsafe and shut it down.
Honolulu-based consultant Kai Hawaii, contracted by the administration, originally said the project cost included more than $2 million for the bridge’s rebuilding and another $2 million to acquire surrounding land to provide access — the county owns the bridge, but not the land around it.
Despite Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.’s initial reluctance to go forward with the restoration due to the high cost, the Kapaia community kept pushing the administration and the council.
Subsequent estimates went up and down, depending on who punched in the numbers and whether the project involved easements or compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Councilman Mel Rapozo said that in February 2007, the bridge’s restoration was priced at $190,000, and the council then set aside $200,000.
In August 2011, a Kapaia resident who asked to remain anonymous took the bridge’s original blue print to a local retailer, and priced all the wood at $9,000 and the steel cables at $3,000. He also said he talked to local contractors, who told him the bridge’s repair would cost about $25,000.
On Wednesday, Dill said that for the bridge’s steel cables alone, Kai Hawaii estimated a price tag of $160,000.
Over the years, the administration has paid at least $126,000 to the consultant, according to Dill’s presentation to the council.
“I say we fire that consulting company and hire another one because that $1.2 million is just absurd,” Rapozo said.
When Kai Hawaii first came up with a $2 million estimate for the bridge’s restoration about four years ago, part of the high cost was due to modifying the bridge’s design to comply with the ADA.
Deputy County Attorney Mauna Kea Trask said Wednesday there are exceptions to rebuild the bridge without adding ADA improvements.
The State of Hawaii Historic Preservation Division is supposed to review the project.
If they say ADA improvements would significantly alter the bridge’s historic character, the county may proceed without such improvements.
“We could still be sued,” Trask said. “But we could utilize that exception … in our defense.”
Though the county would never want to discriminate against individuals with disabilities, he said, the administration doesn’t want to threaten or destroy the historic significance of the bridge.
Dill said the project’s Phase I will include restoration of the two wooden towers. A contract bid would be out by March and construction would start by July, he said.
The administration has about $230,000 appropriated by the council for the bridge’s restoration, which is enough for a first phase, according to Dill. They would be left with only $80,000 available for Phase II, and may have to come back to the council for more money, he said.
Phase I also includes acquisition of easements. Trask said the administration is working with Kapaia residents, and the administration is hoping the easements will be free or at a low price.
Phase II will include finishing up the rest of the bridge. Dill said the $1.2 million estimate is conservative, and the administration is optimistic it will be significantly less.
Furfaro said there’s a perception the county of Kauai has deep pockets, but he said it doesn’t.
“We are using reserve money now to get us through our recent labor negotiations and we still have to lobby the state to lift the cap on our share of the TAT,” he said
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or lazambuja@thegardenisland.com
