THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

113

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

ADDRESSING THE CONCERNS RAISED BY RESIDENTS IMPACTED BY THE H-1 WAIMALU VIADUCT FREEWAY WESTBOUND WIDENING PROJECT.

 

 

WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation has scheduled the H-1 Waimalu Viaduct Freeway Westbound Widening Project, from Kaonohi Street to the Pearl City off-ramp, to begin construction in May, 2004; and

WHEREAS, the construction phase of the project is planned to last for eighteen months; and

WHEREAS, the project itself will extend the freeway shoulders and add a sixth lane on the H-1 freeway to the Pearl City exit; and

WHEREAS, in the late 1960s, approximately eighty thousand motor vehicles traveled the freeway daily; and

WHEREAS, currently, about two hundred thirty-five thousand motor vehicles use the same freeway daily and up to three hundred thousand motor vehicles are projected to use the freeway by 2025; and

WHEREAS, in the 1960s, when the existing portion of the H-1 freeway was built, the areas surrounding the freeway were subjected to great inconvenience in terms of traffic disruption, excessive noise, dust, and debris from construction; and

WHEREAS, because of the increased population in the areas affected and the increased number of motor vehicles using the freeway today as opposed to the 1960s, the negative effects of the construction project, including noise and debris, will be even more disruptive; and

WHEREAS, the State has bought ten homes in Waimalu and relocated families to make way for the project, but the vacant area has turned into a noisy hangout littered with beer bottles, disfigured by graffiti, and where homeless people have pitched tents, and skateboarders, rowdy youths, and others have caused much vexation and fear for neighbors; and

WHEREAS, the vacant area has also become a hazardous firetrap and indeed one of the vacant houses has been gutted by a suspicious fire in January, 2004; and

WHEREAS, with respect to noise mitigation, the Department of Transportation plans to take the following measures:

(1) Confine weekend and night construction to the freeway and ramp areas;

(2) Prohibit night and weekend construction in Waimalu Gardens;

(3) Allow restricted construction at night;

(4) Use drilled piers instead of driven piles;

(5) Disable back-up alarms;

(6) Improve steel plate installation;

(7) Use quieter construction practices:

(A) Locate equipment as far away as possible;

(B) Use equipment mufflers; and

(C) Maintain equipment; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation also currently plans to install noise and debris barriers across the viaduct for the duration of the construction and to remove them upon completion of construction; and

WHEREAS, according to the construction contractor, sound barriers would provide a five-decibel reduction in noise compared to projected noise levels; and

WHEREAS, temporary debris barriers are planned to be installed to protect people and property below the viaduct during construction but are to be removed after construction because, according to the Department of Transportation, a permanent debris barrier would interfere with access to and maintenance of highway lighting fixtures; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation further states that a fifteen-foot wide buffer area will be provided through the purchase of rights-of-way and the mauka shoulder along the Waimalu Viaduct will be increased from eight feet to twelve feet, moving any potential source of debris further from the viaduct's edge; and

WHEREAS, the overwhelming sentiment of the residents in areas affected by the project strongly favors the permanent installation of both noise and debris barriers along the length of the freeway under construction and the installation of air conditioning units for residents living within one hundred yards from the freeway under construction to mitigate dust; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Transportation is strongly encouraged to:

(1) Install permanent safety barriers, which will address noise and debris issues, along the length of the H-1 freeway affected by the H-1 Waimalu Viaduct Freeway Westbound Widening Project;

(2) Install air conditioning units in residences within one hundred yards of the H-1 Waimalu Viaduct Freeway Westbound Widening Project;

(3) Immediately remove the vacant homes, especially the home gutted by fire in January, 2004; and

(4) Remove homeless people and address aesthetics issues, including trash and graffiti; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Waimalu Viaduct Project; Noise/Debris Barriers; Air Conditioning