HANALEI — In response to North Shore residents’ concerns regarding the implementation of two temporary Wainiha bridge replacements, state officials said they will make the timing convenient for locals, establish an 8-ton load limit, improve the line of sight and
HANALEI — In response to North Shore residents’ concerns regarding the implementation of two temporary Wainiha bridge replacements, state officials said they will make the timing convenient for locals, establish an 8-ton load limit, improve the line of sight and start educating the public on etiquette issues.
State Transportation Department engineers and representatives from Hawaiian Dredging and M&E Pacific, the chosen construction and design companies, answered questions from community members Thursday evening at Hanalei Community Center.
“We’ll work with you,” state DOT Assistant District Engineer Ray McCormick said. “Keep the information flowing.”
Although already in a state of severe deterioration, Wainiha Bridges 1 and 3 sustained substantial new damage between Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 after a suspected vehicle crossed weighing at least triple the posted load limit.
“Both bridges are pretty bad,” Hawaiian Dredging’s Gary Iwamoto said. “There are big chunks falling off and it’s pretty rusted.”
The damage prompted authorities to immediately lower the limit from 6 tons to 3 tons and establish a 24/7 checkpoint for trucks trying to cross.
The existing bridges should be shored up by Thanksgiving and the temporary replacements installed by Christmas, Iwamoto said.
The temporary Acro-bridges, pre-fabricated structures similar to the temporary replacement installed in October 2004 for Wainiha Bridge 2, have been ordered and are en route, he added.
Two 24-hour closures in mid-December and two to four 12-hour closures will be necessary to install the 13.5-foot wide replacements, Iwamoto said. The replacements will be 1.5 feet wider than the existing bridges.
Residents will receive at least a week’s notice and the closures will likely start around 7 a.m. after school traffic. The “Wainiha ferry” will be available to help people cross the stream, officials said.
Rumors have run rampant since the October incident, but no one has been cited.
“You’ve got to pretty much catch them in the act,” state DOT District Engineer Steven Kyono told some 20 residents at the meeting.
Some community members pointed at movie crews they said were filming in the area at the time.
Kyono denied these allegations, but noted that eye witnesses reported seeing a “dozer” cross the bridges as another possible culprit.
Hanalei resident Carl Imparato, who lives along the highway, voiced his enforcement concerns.
The state officials said it will take an act of legislation to provide the proper capabilities to curb violations.
Most illegal crossings occur at night, Kyono said, when they are “out of sight, out of mind.”
Some residents gasped when McCormick announced that a weigh station check point set up for northbound trucks will likely be removed in the “near future” prior to the completed installation of the temporary bridge replacements.
He said he suspects the illegal evening runs will resume after its removal, but noted the state Highways Division is not charged with enforcement.
North Shore resident Barbara Robeson asked the state engineers and Hawaiian Dredging to do what they can to maximize the line of sight so northbound drivers can see from the start of Wainiha Bridge 2 to the point where southbound drivers should be slowing down to cross Wainiha Bridge 3.
The one-lane bridges operate on an informal etiquette policy. When traffic is heavy, four cars generally cross the two bridges heading one way and then it alternates so four vehicles can cross going the opposite direction, residents said.
Cutting back the hau bush for drivers to see cars sooner that are coming from the opposite direction would help, Robeson said.
The state officials agreed to start educating the public through press releases and possible signage on some form of an etiquette policy to improve the situation.
Residents said it sometimes operates on an inefficient one for one system and other times a dozen or more cars will trail each other without pausing for vehicles waiting to cross from the other direction.
For more information, call the state DOT at 241-3000.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) o r neagle@kauaipubco.com.
