Question: When will the Ward Village to Kewalo Basin pedestrian overpass open? I read online it was supposed to have opened in January, but I just went there and it’s still closed.
Answer: “The Ala Moana Pedestrian Bridge opening has been postponed to May 2025. During field applications the crews needed to readjust the process for the application of the skid-resistant coating to ensure that the surface of the bridge would be safe for pedestrians in wet conditions. This involved ordering of additional glass aggregate to provide friction between coats of epoxy on the bridge deck. The additional glass was ordered in November 2024 and received in February 2025. The new application process has been tested and the crews are working additional hours to complete the application of the three layers of epoxy/glass aggregate needed,” Shelly Kunishige, a spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation, said in an email Wednesday.
You are one of several readers asking when the elevated walkway will welcome pedestrians and bicyclists, connecting Kakaako residences and businesses on the mauka side of the busy six-lane boulevard with Ala Moana Regional Park and Kewalo Basin Harbor on the makai side.
The overpass, which spans Ala Moana Boulevard between Ward Avenue and Kamakee Street, will separate roughly 2,100 pedestrians and bicyclists a day from roughly 40,000 vehicles a day on the road below, a DOT news release said when construction began in May 2022.
At that time, the DOT expected work to wrap up by October 2023. The completion date was pushed back multiple times, including to repour concrete for the center pier supporting the overpass, to ensure that it met concrete-strength standards.
In November, the pedestrian bridge was expected to open by the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025, barring setbacks, which ultimately did occur.
Q: The Manoa park pool was supposed to reopen by this spring, which I took to mean the beginning of spring. What happened?
A: The needed repairs turned out to be too much for staff of Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation to handle, so a contractor was eventually hired. Work is progressing and the popular pool at Manoa Valley District Park is to reopen before the Summer Fun keiki recreational program begins on June 9, according to a DPR news release issued March 21.
The pool closed in early September because of loose tiles and chipped plaster, which park staff discovered as they treated the pool for algae buildup, the news release said. “Initially, the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation anticipated the pool repairs to be finished, and the pool reopened to the public, by this spring. When the project began DPR was encouraged to utilize our in-house maintenance staff to conduct the repairs. However, as the initial renovations progressed, we realized the project was beyond our abilities to complete alone. At that point we began searching for contractors to assist with the urgent repairs, which delayed the efforts to resurface and repaint the pool’s surface,” the news release said.
Q: Can I find out before I buy my plane ticket which airlines are using the digital ag form? I prefer the paper form. I put my name and that I have nothing to declare (which is true) and that’s it. With any digital form you have to complete all required fields or it won’t submit. I don’t think it’s right the state is collecting so much personal data, even from passengers with nothing to declare!
A: Yes. You are referring to Hawaii’s Plants and Animals Declaration Form, also known as the Agriculture Declaration Form, which state law requires all travelers arriving from the continental United States to complete. The Akamai Arrival website (808ne.ws/4jwh2Cd) lists flights included in a pilot program, which runs March 1 to May 31, that replaces the paper form handed out by flight attendants with a digital form passengers can access before or during the flight. All American Airlines and Southwest Airlines flights into Hawaii participate in the pilot program, according to the website, along with certain Alaska, Delta, Hawaiian and United flights.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
