Water Improvements And Traffic Interruptions Are Discussed At Neighborhood Board Meeting

A project that would bring long-term improvement in water service but short-term problems with traffic is coming to Kaneohe.

We learned at our March meeting that the Board of Water Supply plans to replace more than a mile of waterlines along four streets, including Kamehameha Highway. A Water Supply representative said the work could start this summer and is expected to last 18 months to two years.

Bryan Gallagher
Board of Water Supply

Called the Anoi Road Water System Improvement Project, the work will replace pipes that are as much as 80 years old in an effort to improve fire protection and water service reliability. Bryan Gallagher, an engineer with the Water Supply agency, said the targeted area has had 54 water main breaks in recent years.

The affected roadways are listed below. Click on this link to see a map of the affected roadways:

Anoi Road from Kapunahala Road to the end of Anoi Road.

Keaahala Road from Keaahala Place to Kamehameha Highway.

Kamehameha Highway from Kahuhipa Street to Keole Street.

Luana Place.

The planned working hours for the project are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Mr. Gallagher said that crews would strive to keep traffic flowing, including holding at least two lanes of traffic open on Kamehameha Highway. However, he said there will be some traffic delays as well as water service interruptions of up to 2 hours. He said affected property owners will be alerted to water outages two weeks in advance.

Mr. Gallagher said that while the interruptions will be inconvenient, a water main break could be much worse.

Both Neighborhood Board and community members raised concerns about the effect on traffic, especially on the heavily travelled Kam Highway. Board Member Warren Ditch urged that the water agency use police officers to direct traffic during lane closures. Board Member Deborah Collins urged the agency to obtain a permit to work at night and limit its work to those hours.

A resident said the water agency should coordinate with other departments to ensure that its work isn’t going on at the same time as big road projects, such as the current widening of the Kahekili Highway.

Mr. Gallagher said he would follow up on the suggestions.

Additional information is available by contacting the Water Supply Construction Section at 808-748-5730 or by emailing contactus@hbws.org.

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