Rail to cross H-1 at Waiau beginning in summer 2016

Question: When the rail reaches just before the Waiau Power Plant, do they have to build another cantilever over the H-1 freeway?

Answer: Yes, in about a year from now. The work near the Pearl City facility will be similar to the current balanced cantilever project at the H-1/H-2 overpass, explained Jeanne Mariani-Belding, communications director for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.

Contractor Kiewit is working on the foundations and will begin the column work later this year. The pier tables that sit on top of the columns are not scheduled to be built until early 2016. Following the pier table work, the bright yellow components known as travelers will be installed during the spring of 2016, and then Kiewit will build the guideway over the freeway in the summer. The structure is scheduled to be completed in the fall, Mariani-Belding said.

To reduce the impact on traffic, the work will be done in the evening. Look for more information from HART as this phase of Oahu’s 20-mile rail-transit project nears. Mariani-Belding said public outreach will be similar to that done during the H-1/H-2 cantilever phase. “That includes notification postcards to neighboring communities, informational community meetings, news releases and press conferences in advance of the work, and four weeks of PSA-type safety ads urging folks to ‘look ahead, not overhead,’” she said.

Q: A lot of cars were towed Monday along Ala Wai Boulevard. They towed cars away so that the street sweepers can sweep the street. This was especially good because the city also whacked all the weeds and littered the streets with the trimmings that morning. But on Wednesday it looked like the sweepers did not sweep (the mauka curb area, closest to Ala Wai Canal, was covered with grass clippings). The question is, Why were the cars towed if they were not going to sweep anyway?

A: The city did sweep the street Monday, before the grass was cut. Cars were towed to make way for the street-cleaning equipment, as usual. Department of Facility Maintenance Director Ross Sasamura explains:

“A street sweeper from the Department of Facility Maintenance, Road Maintenance Division swept Ala Wai Boulevard along the curb on both the mauka and makai sides of the street on Monday morning. Parking is prohibited during the scheduled street-sweeping time to allow our staff to properly clear the gutter areas of accumulated debris and sediment. A DRM groundskeeping crew trimmed the grass in the landscaped areas along Ala Wai Boulevard after the scheduled street sweeping and the prevailing winds scattered the grass clippings and trimmings into the street.

“The crew will return to collect and properly dispose of the grass clippings in the street. We apologize for the frustration and any inconvenience … and appreciate the patience and understanding of the community members and commuters that traverse Ala Wai Boulevard.”

City crews sweep Ala Wai Boulevard on Monday and Friday mornings, except for state holidays. Street signs on the mauka side alert motorists that cars parked there from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on those days will be towed.

Mahalo

I would like to acknowledge a young lady who went out of her way to make sure my groceries were not stolen from my car. I had loaded the car and thought I had closed and locked it before proceeding to the Costco food concession to buy lunch. When I returned to my car, I noticed I had left the back door wide open. The young lady, whose car was parked next to mine, approached me and said she had noticed my car was open. She had notified security and waited in her car until someone returned. I am so grateful for her kindness and thoughtfulness and needed to say mahalo again. — A grateful shopper

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