The completion date for the long-delayed Komohana Street reconstruction project has again been pushed back.
The completion date for the long-delayed Komohana Street reconstruction project has again been pushed back.
Initially estimated to be finished by February 2016, the work is now set for a mid-April timeline, according to the county Department of Public Works.
Project contractor Yamada &Sons continues to accrue liquidated damages for each day behind schedule. As of Feb. 11, the project was 130 days behind, and $130,000 in damages had accrued.
The liquidated damages cost will be issued as a change order when the project is complete, and deducted from the project total. The original budget was $4.9 million.
The Komohana project began in October 2015. When it is complete, about 4,000 feet of roadway between Kukuau Street and Waianuenue Avenue will be reconstructed.
Remaining work includes guardrail installation, utility cover adjustment, traffic signal upgrades, pavement striping and tie-in of concrete driveways.
The reconstruction has been plagued by weather delays and equipment malfunctions, but the timeline was also set back last year when Yamada &Sons pulled equipment offsite to work at locations where it was a subcontractor for county projects. The contractor is one of two in East Hawaii that can do paving work.
Traffic delays and one-way lane closures on the road have sparked concern from Hawaii County Council members as well as medical personnel because of their impact to ambulance routes.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.