The Beachwalk Force Main sewer project has come to a close with Mayor Kirk Caldwell reopening the portion of the bike and walk path on the mauka side of the Ala Wai Canal that served as a staging area following the massive 2006 spill in Waikiki.
Park goers and bikers are now using the car-free path area behind Ala Wai and Iolani Schools.
This portion of the city park was used as a staging area for the emergency sewer project and then for the construction of a new 5,800 foot Beachwalk Force Main. This was also the area used to install and then cut up and haul away above ground emergency sewer pipes and the “black noodle” that was installed on the floor of the Ala Wai Canal as part of the emergency bypass.
The city will be adding a new dog park next month. It is located next to the walk and bike path behind the two schools.
The opening of the bike and walk path followed extensive irrigation, replanted grass and trees, and the installation of lights in the city run park.
Three other city park areas were also impacted by the sewer repairs. Those are at the section of Ala Moana Beach Park at the corner of Atkinson Drive and Ala Moana Boulevard, in the park area behind the Ala Wai Recreation Center at the corner of McCully Street and Kapiolani Boulevard, and in the Ala Wai Field area. Construction fencing is now down and those parks have also reopened.
The park areas had large shafts, or jacking pits, that were built as part of the Beachwalk project. Three other shafts were built along the line, including two on Ala Wai Boulevard fronting high rise buildings.
The shafts were built so contractors could avoid open trenching of streets and park areas and install the wastewater line through a state of the art micro tunneling system.
In September, contractors removed the 5,135 foot emergency wastewater bypass pipe from the Ala Wai Canal.
Measuring 48 inches in diameter and dubbed the “black noodle” by area residents, the pipe was sunk as part of the emergency measures following the major sewage spill in Waikiki.
Contractors last year also removed above ground piping at the entrance to Waikiki and on the mauka side of the Ala Wai Canal.
The pipes were part of the Beachwalk Wastewater Emergency Bypass (BWEB) and served as a bypass while the permanent underground Beachwalk Force Main was constructed.
All this work is designed to avoid a repeat of what happened in March 2006, when a pressurized force main system cracked under Kaiolu Street in Waikiki.
The new 72-inch Beachwalk Force Main project, coupled with the permanent portion of the BWEB line, and the original 42-inch force main line that was rehabilitated following the 2006 break, provides the city two reliable ways to transport wastewater out of Waikiki.
For further information call 808-282-3440 or log onto our website www.beachwalkforcemain.com