Historic bridge reopens

HANAPEPE — The county Department of Water announced the reopening of the historic Hanapepe Road bridge over the Hanapepe River to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians Friday.

The DOW and county Department of Public Works are jointly working on the project.

“We would like to thank the Westside community for their patience and cooperation as we worked diligently during this process to reopen the bridge for the community,” said Dustin Moises, DOW chief of construction management.

Although the bridge is open, there are limitations, as more work continues. The raised pedestrian walkway is closed to pedestrians while the county awaits guidance from a national historical society on current guidelines to repair that aged section of the bridge.

Motor-vehicle traffic is limited to one lane, and both motorists and pedestrians are encouraged to be vigilant while pedestrian traffic will be routed to the delineated pedestrian section of the bridge, Moises said.

The DOW also anticipates intermittent closures of the bridge, and advises motorists to slow down while driving along Hanapepe Road and adhere to all posted traffic and safety signs.

The Hanapepe-‘Ele‘ele Water System Improvement Project is part of the DOW’s comprehensive, long-range plan to replace aging infrastructure and interconnect the Hanapepe and ‘Ele‘ele water systems to improve reliability and resiliency of the systems for its customers.

The DOW continues to make progress on the project, with upcoming work that will include the installation of a 16-inch main line along Kaumuali‘i Highway, a new 6-inch main line replacement on Hanapepe Road, and installing appurtenances that include additional 12-inch and 8-inch main lines, connections to existing waterlines, new service laterals, new water meters and boxes, new valves, new fire hydrants, and other restoration and repaving work.