FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         May 2, 2005

Release No. DDC-5

NIGHT WORK HOURS EXTENDED FOR NIU SEWER BYPASS PROJECT

Night work on a temporary sewer force main along Kalanianaole Highway in Niu is beginning two hours earlier than originally scheduled.

The state Department of Transportation, which owns the highway, has approved a request from the City’s contractor, James W. Glover, Ltd., to begin night work at 8 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.

Work on the temporary bypass began last week.

Construction of the emergency bypass will allow the City to install a permanent replacement for the underground force main that ruptured three times in February because of corrosion. The bypass will run from the Niu Valley Wastewater pump station, just Ewa of Niu Valley Shopping Center, under Kalanianaole Highway to an existing sewer trunk at Puuikena Drive and Hawaii Loa Ridge. Sewage would be diverted from the pump station to the bypass line, allowing for replacement of the current main.  Construction of the permanent replacement is more time-consuming and expensive. Design and construction of the permanent replacement will take two to three years.

The emergency bypass will cross the town-bound lanes of Kalanianaole Highway to the median, then run along the median. It would be above ground except for intersections.

 Work on the emergency bypass will be done during non-peak hours, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 8  p.m. to 5 a.m. The contractor will try to confine lane closures to no more than one lane of Kalanianaole Highway in each direction. Those will generally be along the median.

The project is expected to take several months.

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Contact:

            Mark Matsunaga, 527-5767