Hawaii Kai bridge in need of emergency repairs among dozens islandwide in poor shape

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Keahole Street Bridge in Hawaii Kai — between Costco and Safeway — is deteriorating, and the city says it’s looking into an emergency procurement to fix it.

But the problems don’t stop here.

The bridge is one of dozens in need of immediate repairs.

The city said there’s no timeline for a fix of the Hawaii Kai bridge, but officials said they’re moving quickly.

Hawaii Kai Resident Tim Murphy drives over the Keahole Street Bridge at least four times a day.

“It does get used so aggressively, so it’s no good if it’s not going to withstand some of the traffic,” he said.

Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters says he immediately asked the Design and Construction department to look at the bridge after a resident sent him photos of it in January.

“I have it right here, and sure enough, this looks pretty bad,” said Waters.

“You can see where they are exposing, you know, the metal, and you have salt air, salt water.”

According to a 2022 report by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, there are roughly 73 bridges in poor condition statewide.

The city said it inspects all city-owned bridges twice a year.

If a bridge has been deemed unsafe, then it will be closed.

In 2021, emergency repairs were needed for the Waialua Beach Road Bridge. State Sen. Chris Lee, a Transportation Committee member, said new focus federally on infrastructure could speed up repairs.

“With the federal dollars that came in in the Build Back Better federal law, which gave a ton of money to states, Hawaii now has the ability to go in and fast track a lot of those bridge projects,” said Lee.

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