Heads up! The City & County of Honolulu will be commencing Waikiki sidewalk rehabilitation work next month. Expect delays and disruptions as a result of the work.
If you’ve been to Waikiki recently, you may have noticed portions of the sidewalk are, um, disintegrating. The area, as many of you know, is incredibly busy and crowded. And all that foot traffic (not to mention our climate) has an impact on the infrastructure. Despite this, Waikiki’s pedestrian ways haven’t had any work done since before the APEC summit in 2011. But, finally, the City & County of Honolulu will be giving the sidewalks the attention they need. Of course, this work will cause locals and visitors alike a bit of inconvenience.
Rehabilitation Work
On May 1, 2018, the City & County will commence a nine-month-long project to address Waikiki’s crumbling walkways. The project will include repairing existing sidewalks along Kalakaua Avenue using quartzite rock pavers, adding or modifying landscape strips, drainage improvements, irrigation systems, electrical improvements, adjusting existing utility boxes, curb ramp improvements, and pavement striping. Work will be done in phases and will begin in front of the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort. The work will then move along Kalakaua to Macy’s, the Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger, the Alohilani Resort, Foster Tower, St. Augustine Church by the Sea Parish, and will end in the area near the Aston Waikiki Beach Resort and the Park Shore Waikiki.
During the project, work will take place between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. And, as you’d imagine, the work will cause disruptions. In fact, the City & County of Honolulu states that drivers should expect delays in the area. If all goes as planned, the project should wrap up in January 2019.
Waikiki Sidewalk Rehabilitation Work, Final Thoughts
The rehabilitation work needs to be done. It’s important, not only for aesthetic reasons but for safety reasons too. However, the work will undoubtedly create some headaches. Waikiki is already a crowded, congested area, and any work in the area will increase this. But, again, it’s best to address the issues sooner than later. The longer we wait, the worse the disruption could get.
Side Note: H-1 Freeway Weekend Work
And while we’re on the topic of disruptive roadwork, there’s a construction project those heading out to Ko Olina should know about too. For the next month, the State of Hawaii will be closing 2-3 lanes of the H-1 Freeway in the westbound direction from every Friday night through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday night. And, let me tell you, these lane closures cause MASSIVE traffic issues. ALL freeways and surface streets in the westbound direction were gridlocked this past weekend. It took me nearly 1.5 hours to get from the Ala Moana Center to my home in Pearl City; a drive that should only take about 30 minutes. So be aware of these closures if you’ll be staying out in Ko Olina (or even the North Shore).