Question: As part of the Ala Moana beautification project, all electrical and telephone lines and TV cables are supposed to go underground from Kalakaua Avenue to Fort Street. All above-ground systems were to be removed and "new attractive street light fixtures" put in from Ala Wai Bridge to Fort Street. The project was to be completed in 2012. The above-ground cables from Kalakaua to the Ala Wai are a particular eyesore. As of today, they appear to be nowhere near completing this project. What is the holdup, what is the new date of completion and at what costs to taxpayers?

Answer: The latest word from the state Department of Transportation is that the project should be completed by September, at an added cost of $5.5 million.

Part of the problem was dealing with an unforeseen water table.

Back in May, we were told the Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana Boulevard Resurfacing and Highway Lighting Replacement Project would be completed this month.

However, although much of the project is done, work is continuing in two areas: in Waikiki, from Kalakaua Avenue to Hobron Lane, and in the Ward area, from Queen Street to Cooke Street, said DOT spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter.

The DOT anticipates the Waikiki work finishing by the end of January.

However, in the Ward area, crews are microtunneling an underground utility crossing, Sluyter said. "They didn’t anticipate hitting the water table and so now have to do microtunneling, which wasn’t expected."

Different equipment had to be brought in for that work.

When that’s done, the utility companies have to splice their lines.

The splicing of utility lines has taken longer than anticipated, Sluyter said, because it "is a complicated procedure that involves manually splicing hundreds of tiny fiber cables together."

Only after that’s done will the wooden poles be removed and concrete on the sidewalks patched, she said.

The project cost has climbed to $40 million from $34.5 million because of the added work and delays. The total cost will be split among federal funds (73 percent), state funds (20 percent) and the utility companies (7 percent), Sluyter said.

MILILANI TREES

One of the Mililani homeowners cited by the city for not getting a permit to plant palm trees in the sidewalk area fronting their homes — see is.gd/LWGbCp — wanted to explain that the trees were there for 18 years without any problem.

The homeowner, who asked not to be identified, said that if the person who complained about the trees had asked, she would have explained that the trees were planted before the street was dedicated to the city.

Before the city took over, the Mililani Town Association had planted trees "that we were told to cultivate, take care of, don’t let die," which she and her husband did, she said. "In the interim, we planted the palm trees" alongside the existing tree, adding gravel to the area, because of continuing problems with "people’s dogs leaving a mess."

The association regularly patrolled the area and "they did not tell us we could not plant the palm trees" or to remove them, she said. "Everything was fine" until they received the notice of violation from the Department of Planning and Permitting.

They were told to either apply for a variance or destroy the trees. Because they were told they had to pay a $100 fee to apply for a variance to keep the trees, with no guarantee it would be approved, they elected to take the "beautiful trees" out, she said.

They tried to give the trees away, for free, but had no takers. So, they ended up getting rid of the palms, and spending $200 to put in grass and remove the gravel.

Whatever is now planted there, "we were told not to take care of the trees anymore," as that task would be handled by the city Department of Parks and Recreation, she said.

Basically, she said, the palm trees were cared for and caused no problem for 18 years. She wondered why there couldn’t have been a better way to handle the situation.

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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd.,
Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.