State crews were busy Wednesday repairing the air conditioning at Honolulu Airport, and hope to bring the street lights along the airport viaduct back online after copper thieves delayed work.

The air-conditioning system went out about 2 p.m. Tuesday after a break in an old chilled-water pipe that was installed in 1972.

"It’s so old, the pipe was actually concrete," state Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said. He said the pipe, 18 inches in diameter and 2,000 feet long, loops around the terminal area to circulate cold water that cools the air.

As of Tuesday night, the Diamond Head concourse area had air conditioning back. But as of yesterday afternoon the rest of the airport was still without its cooling system, including the customs and baggage claim areas.

Crews replaced a section of the concrete pipe Wednesday and were trying to get the system back up. Meisenzahl said the air-conditioning could be back in operation by this morning, but said it could take as long as tonight or Friday morning.

The state has placed portable air conditioning units and fans around the airport.

"Our main concern is our users," Meisenzahl said. "So we’ve been working around the clock."

Crews were also working on a transformer that powers lights from Paiea to Aolele streets which failed sometime around December. A new transformer was ordered and was installed in June, Meisenzahl said.

Then state crews discovered that copper wire for the lights under the viaduct had been stolen, which could cost up to $200,000 to reinstall.

"It’s really frustrating because all the money we’re spending is money we could be using to pave our roads," Meisenzahl said. "It’s really a shame. The reason we have these lights is for safety."

Another transformer that powers lights from Aolele to Valkenburgh streets went out in April. A new transformer has been ordered and is scheduled to arrive the last week of September. State crews discovered that thieves also took copper wiring in that area.

The contract to replace the copper wire for the first transformer should be awarded Sept. 7, and the project is expected to be finished by November.

The state will wait for the second transformer to arrive before assessing the extent of the copper wire thefts, Meisenzahl said. That contract should go out for bid in late October and the work might be completed by January.

Meisenzahl said the state will look into installing tamper-proof screws. But federal guidelines mandate that the pull boxes that house electrical lines be accessible.

"It’s not like we can put a steel door on it," he said. "In case of emergencies, someone has to go in there and turn those things off."