Question: I live in Ewa by Gentry. Yes, it is in the flight path of Honolulu Airport, and I did sign a covenant that stated airplanes will fly directly overhead between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Once in a while, the airport does runway work that requires planes to fly at all hours overhead, but that’s only for a few days and not very often. This past January, we were notified that runway work would be taking place the entire month of February. Well, it’s April, and the planes are still flying over at all hours. Can you imagine what it’s like to have a plane fly overhead at 3 a.m.? Is the runway work not finished yet? As I write this, four planes have already flown over!
Answer: You’ll have to bear with the overhead flights for several more months: The unexpected runway repairs won’t be finished until early fall at the earliest.
Last year we explained that flights over the Honolulu and Kalihi areas had increased because the Reef Runway (Runway 8R/26L) would be shut down completely to allow repaving the entire runway.
The $20 million Reef Runway Rehabilitation Project was completed, but "earlier this year an inspection identified deficiencies in (another) runway that needed to be addressed immediately," said Caroline Sluyter, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
The February work you refer to involved emergency maintenance repairs to keep Runway 4R/22L operating as much as possible until a contract for a full runway rehabilitation project could begin, she said.
On March 23 the current $13.5 million project began.
It "is the full runway rehabilitation and repaving project," Sluyter said.
The work is done primarily at night, Sunday night to Friday mornings, from 6 p.m. until 9 a.m.
As the project progresses, work also will take place Saturday night into Sunday morning, Sluyter said.
For now the targeted completion date is early fall, although, "as with all repaving projects, completion is dependent on favorable weather conditions," she said.
After this project is completed, the DOT anticipates another major runway rehabilitation will take place in one to two years.
Smaller, maintenance-type projects might crop up in the meantime.
"We do apologize for the inconvenience as the (DOT) works to improve the airport’s infrastructure," Sluyter said.
Question: The showers next to the Kapahulu Groin at Kapahulu and Kalakaua avenues in Waikiki have been out of order since early March and have yellow tape around them. This is a great loss to the many residents and tourists who use this shower to rinse off after being in the ocean. What is wrong with the shower, and how long will it take to fix? The nearest shower by the restrooms just up from Kapahulu also doesn’t work.
Answer: The shower at the Kapahulu Groin at Kuhio Beach Park was finally repaired March 27, while the shower by the Queen’s Surf comfort station was repaired April 1, the city Department of Parks and Recreation told us Monday.
Shower No. 6, by the Kapahulu Groin, "took some time to fix because the waterline break was under a palm tree and retaining wall," explained Michele Nekota, who took over as parks director April 1.
She said that situation required scheduling between the department’s Division of Urban Forestry and Maintenance Support Services to coordinate the work.
Meanwhile, shower No. 7, near the Queen’s Surf comfort station, is equipped with metered run-time, push-button valves and special push-button parts.
Replacement parts had to be ordered from the mainland.
MAHALO
To a young woman sitting next to me on the No. 18 Ala Moana bus last month. After exiting on Piikoi Street, I realized I had dropped my bus pass. I retraced my steps back to the bus stop, but to no avail. I found out later that someone riding the bus had turned it in. I want to thank that young woman, who would have been the only person to do so. — Pam
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.
