Those big emergency bypass pipes on the makai side of the Ala Wai Canal are gone and Ala Wai Boulevard is back in business for pedestrians, bikers and motorists looking for a free parking space.

The sidewalk on the canal side between Lewers and Seaside reopened this afternoon, Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced.  

“It looks great,” Mayor Hannemann said, applauding the crews who finished the job ahead of schedule.

“I also want to again thank residents and Waikiki businesses for their patience and support throughout this project,” Hannemann said.

Crews began removing the 750-foot stretch of pipe on Tuesday.  The orange street barriers were also removed and crews made repairs to several sections of sidewalk where the pipe sat for nearly two years.

The mayor visited the site Tuesday when a 45-ton hydraulic crane was used to haul away five ton sections of pipes.

“Every time I drove down Ala Wai these past two years I was reminded of that rainy day in March 2006 when that force main broke,” the mayor said.

The bypass system was constructed to divert and intercept wastewater flow from the existing Beachwalk Pump Station.  It was a key part of the $45 million Beachwalk Wastewater Emergency Bypass project.

“As I said earlier this week, we have accomplished our goal of fixing an aging but vitally important part of our wastewater system, and we are continuing to provide a continuous emergency backup, so that what happened in 2006 will not be repeated,” Hannemann said.

Above-ground piping on the mauka side of the canal and at the entrance to Ala Moana Beach Park are also temporary, but will remain for now, as will the pipe placed on the canal floor.

The City and its consultants are designing what will be a permanent underground line connecting two new microtunneled lines under the canal and Kaiolu Street to the pump station at Ala Moana Beach Park.  That new line will add to the work that is being done on the BWEB project and allow the remaining temporary lines to be removed.