Land board to vet Waikiki sea wall and Ala Moana sand nourishment projects

Two projects proposed by the City and County of Honolulu Department of Design and Construction, aiming to mitigate shoreline erosion at Queen’s Surf in Waikiki and Ala Moana Regional Park, will be considered by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources at a virtual meeting via Zoom on Friday starting at 9 a.m.

Public testimony will be accepted in writing, or a request to testify via Zoom or telephone may be made, by emailing blnr.testimony @hawaii.gov by 9 a.m. today.

For Waikiki, DDC proposes to repair an approximately 900-foot section of seawall lying between the Queen’s Surf groin and the Ewa border of the Waikiki Aquarium.

The area included a concrete ramp damaged in July by a “king” high tide that also knocked askew an Ocean Safety lifeguard tower. The ramp segment received emergency work and is not part of the project.

A report to BLNR by the Department of Land and Natural Resources Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands notes that the Kapiolani Park shoreline is not included in the currently proposed Waikiki Beach Improvement and Maintenance Program plan for T-head groins and sand nourishment Ewa of the Royal Hawaiian groin, but that sand restoration at Queen’s Surf, “in combination with stabilizing structures or scalloping into the park to create a pocket beach,” might be considered in the future.

Proposed repairs will focus on voids in the foundation of the seawall, which stands about 10 feet high on its makai side, and damage to its concrete cap, which poses a public safety hazard. The project would fill the voids with concrete, construct a reinforcing concrete wall makai of the existing seawall, and excavate an area between the seawall and the Queen’s Surf promenade, filling it with gravel and layers of geotextile and making a retaining wall covered with articulated concrete.

Potential effects on endangered or threatened species such as Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles and hoary bats would be mitigated by pausing construction activities when the animals are in the vicinity, and not using barbed wire or disturbing large woody plants that attract bats.

Previous archaeological work near the project area discovered burials and cultural artifacts, but these were not found in a 2001 archaeological monitoring conducted for the construction of the Queen’s Surf promenade. The State Historic Preservation Division said the project may proceed with on-site archaeological monitoring of ground-disturbing work.

THE Ala Moana Regional Park project proposes dredging offshore sand, of which a total 68,200 cubic yards would be used to cover roughly 4,500 feet of linear shoreline extended from Kewalo Basin to Magic Island at a width of 130-270 feet, “in which the dry beach would be increased by 10 to 80 feet,” plus adding a berm near the Magic Island parking lots.

It would “likely” use clamshell dredging that would mechanically scoop and lift sand from offshore of the Hilton Hawaiian Resort onto a barge to be transported to shore.

OCCL’s report notes that Ala Moana beach is man-made, sitting on a former reef that was filled in with marine dredge during the creation of the park, and that its sand, originally imported from Waianae and Bellows Field, eroded at about 2.4 feet a year from 1927 to 2005, with increased erosion observed in recent years.

The project area would be surveyed for protected species such as turtles, and 150-foot buffer zones would be established between the animals and the work area.

OCCL recommended that BLNR approve both projects, on condition that should historic remains be encountered, work shall cease immediately and the contractor will contact SHPD; that work be completed within one year of approval; and that no night work using outdoor lighting take place during seabird fledgling season, from Sept. 15 to Dec. 15.

Documents can be viewed at dlnr.hawaii.gov/meetings. The meeting will be livestreamed at bit.ly/3qaqQGp.