With approval of $500,000 by the Kaua‘i County Council to accelerate the replacement of a bridge on ‘Olohena Road in Wailua Homesteads, Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste’s administration is finalizing plans for the work. Preliminary work on the bridge is scheduled
With approval of $500,000 by the Kaua‘i County Council to accelerate the replacement of a bridge on ‘Olohena Road in Wailua Homesteads, Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste’s administration is finalizing plans for the work.
Preliminary work on the bridge is scheduled to start at the end of May, and will continue through the third week in June.
Although original plans called for the closure of the road at the bridge during this time, after further review, county officials determined it was best to have the bridge remain open to limited traffic until construction of the replacement bridge begins on or about June 20, Baptiste said.
Because of the rapidly deteriorating condition of the bridge, county officials recently reduced the weight limit to two tons. Drivers of vehicles and trucks weighing more than 4,000 pounds have been turned away by Kaua‘i Police Department and private security personnel.
From Monday, June 20 on, ‘Olohena Road at the bridge will be closed to all vehicular traffic for four to five months, to the chagrin of residents concerned about emergency-vehicle response times and additional traffic detoured onto roads narrower than ‘Olohena.
While the bridge is closed, motorists will need to use alternate routes to get to their destinations.
“As we go through this time of challenge, we assure you that this project will be completed in the most expeditious manner possible,” Baptiste said.
In response to increased traffic on roads near the ‘Olohena bridge, mitigating work such as the installation of guardrails on Hauiki Road is currently in progress.
