Potholes and ragged overlays on Kuliouou Road in East Honolulu forces resident Eric Weber to drive his 1998 Ford van along the street’s gutters to avoid rough spots.
"You gotta pay close attention. You might hit one of those land mines," said Weber.
Resurfacing work on eight streets in East Honolulu, costing $11.5 million, began yesterday as poor road conditions have spurred complaints to city officials.
ROADWORK
Resurfacing projects are expected to be completed in March on the following East Honolulu roads:
» Ainakoa Drive
» Halekoa Drive
» Hind Iuka Drive
» Hao Street
» Kuliouou Road
» Keahole Street
» Kaluanui Road
» Halemaumau Street
Source: City Councilman Stanley Chang |
Most have not been repaved for about 20 years, said City Councilman Stanley Chang during a news briefing Tuesday at Kuliouou Road, one that’s set for repaving.
The work is part of a $77 million capital improvement project for road maintenance around Oahu.
Work in areas including Aiea, McCully, Moiliili, Makakilo and Waipahu is in progress or scheduled to begin next month.
What the city has been doing is allowing roads to deteriorate, Chang said, noting that it is more expensive to reconstruct them later.
Road repairs cost money, said city Managing Director Doug Chin during the briefing, and funding comes either from property taxes or borrowing.
"I think that’s the balance that has to be struck … how much are you going to be putting into resurfacing and repairing roads versus how much you’re going to be expecting people to have to pay in taxes," he said.
Regardless, the current budget for repairs, Chin said, is substantial compared with previous years.
In response to comments about the deteriorating road conditions, Chin said the city administration and the Council are trying to tackle the problem by putting a higher emphasis on road resurfacing work in their capital improvement programs.
On weekdays Weber makes his daily trip on Kuliouou Road to pick up his 3-year-old daughter at a residential day care almost a mile away from his home.
Some rough areas on the road are similar to driving across railroad tracks, he said.
The last time Kuliouou Road was repaved was in 1990. Resurfacing work is long overdue, he said.
"It’s been, what, 21 years since it’s been repaved? Twenty-one years. It’s pretty ridiculous."
