Crews to soon begin process of dismantling observatory

Crews soon will be traveling to the Maunakea summit to begin the work of deconstructing the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory.

CSO Director Sunil Golwawa said the complete removal of the observatory — the first of five to be removed in exchange for the planned construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope — should be finished by the end of the year, with deconstruction of the building itself beginning before the end of summer.

Prior to that, however, Golwawa said crews will begin emptying the building in preparation for deconstruction.

While all of the site’s astronomical instruments were removed in 2015 — save for the telescope, which will be removed during the building’s deconstruction and shipped to Chile — Golwawa said the observatory is still filled with “the sorts of things you’d expect in a 40-year-old observatory building,” such as shelves, cabinets and other items.

“We just wanted people to know, because there will be truck traffic going up there, that they’re just beginning the decommissioning process,” Golwawa said.

Golwawa said Goodfellow Bros. will serve as the general contractor for the project, but added that the contract has not yet been finalized.

He estimated that the project, which includes the total restoration of the site to its natural state, will cost about $4 million.

Meanwhile, the second of the five observatories to be decommissioned is the University of Hawaii’s Hoku Ke‘a Observatory.

UH is finalizing the permit application for that observatory’s deconstruction, which is tentatively scheduled to be completed in 2023.

Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.