Airport area residents brace for more traffic and noise as rail construction moves forward

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Construction on the Airport Guideway and Stations (AGS) segment of the Honolulu Rail Transit Project will begin Tuesday night near Aloha Stadium.

On Monday, officials from Shimmick, Traylor and Granite (STG) -- the three mainland firms hired to head the 5.2 mile stretch of rail work between Aloha Stadium and Middle Street -- held a community meeting at Radford High School.

They told area residents and businesses to prepare for more traffic and construction noise.

"There is going to be large cranes, large drill rigs, excavating equipment and concrete trucks coming in and out," said Rusty Lucido of STG.

Kamehameha Highway will be reduced to two lanes throughout the project and speed limits may be lowered.

"I'm going to potentially have to deal with the construction traffic of the stations and the guideway for a large period of time," said Salt Lake resident Claudio Friederick.

Among the crowd eager for answers, Sen. Kai Kahele asked about the potential for Iwi, or ancestral bones, to turn up during construction.

"I want to know protocols and processes if they did in the event find something," he said.

This phase of the project is expected to finish in 2021.

Lane widening work starts Tuesday night and drilling operations begin in September.

Light impact equipment like jackhammers, pavement saws and pavement breakers will be limited to specific night hours in accordance with the state Department of Health's approved variance.

If you have any questions, comments or complaints about night work and associated noise, contact HART's 24-hour Project Hotline (808) 566-2299.

A community meeting will be held at Radford High School every second Wednesday of the month for the remainder of the year.

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