Work to Hawaii's Maipalaoa Bridge on Farrington Highway in Maili has been ongoing for nine years after repeat funding and contracting delays. Now, the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HiDOT) says the project is slated to finish this summer.
The Maipalaoa bridge was one of the most dangerous in the state when a $14.4 million contract for improvements was awarded in 2015. With over 30,000 vehicles crossing it every day, the bridge had cracks, concrete spalling and exposed rebar.
“The project started off as a repair and maintenance that transformed into rehabilitation that is now a full-blown replacement,” said Darius Kila, the area’s state representative, in a statement to Hawaii News Now. “That’s how bad the bridge’s condition was.”
The project came to a halt in 2017 when the original contractor defaulted after completing just 5% of the work. HiDOT said the project restarted in 2019 and was supposed to finish in 2022.
However, a HiDOT spokesperson told Hawaii News Now the Honolulu Board of Water Supply wanted to improve the water main on the side of the bridge, so the project was redesigned. Workers also found an underground fiber optic cable that was in the way of construction.
The DOT said completion of the project is now set for June 30 of this year.
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Source: Hawaii News Now
