FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       May 2, 2005

Release No. DDC-4

CITY PLANS JOINT WATER AND SEWER PROJECTS

ON KAPIOLANI BOULEVARD

            Officials of the City Department of Design and Construction and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply will hold a public information meeting to discuss plans for major sewer and water work along Kapiolani Boulevard beginning next year. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, May 9, at the McKinley High School Cafeteria.

The sewer line work involves installing a "cured in place" resin pipe inside a  36-inch sewer main that runs under the center of Kapiolani Boulevard from Kalakaua Avenue to Kamakee Street. The existing main was installed in 1923 and needs repair. Emergency work was done from July to October 2004 on three segments of the main that were in the worst condition. The planned work will restore the rest of the main and will not duplicate the work that was done last year. The planned project is expected to extend the life of the main for 50 years or more. Use of the cured-in-place pipe makes it unnecessary to expose the entire length of the main, because the work will be performed from the sewer manholes..

The water project involves installation of a water main to replace the existing 70-year-old main  under Kapiolani for roughly the same stretch as the sewer project. New 12-inch mains will be installed using open trench construction. In addition, a new water main will be installed to replace an existing main along Atkinson Drive, and accessible curb ramps will be constructed.

In addition to Kapiolani Boulevard, portions of Kamakee Street, Atkinson Drive and Kalakaua Avenue will be affected by the combined project.

Work is expected to begin in January 2006 and be completed in October 2007. The project will be suspended from Nov. 20, 2006, to Jan. 2, 2007, to ease disruptions to the public from Thanksgiving through the Christmas and New Year holidays. 

The sewer and water projects are being done simultaneously in order to minimize disruption to traffic along Kapiolani Boulevard. In addition, the City is applying to the state Department of Health for a noise variance that will allow work on the project to be done at night.   

The engineering firm R.M. Towill Corp. is contracted by the City to coordinate the design of the project. The Board of Water Supply will administer the construction contract for the combined project.

-30-

Contact:

            Lynn Kurashima, P.E., Department of Design and Construction, 527-6707