COMMUNITY MEETING NOTICE

SUBJECT:     Opaekaa Bridge

                             Puuopae Bridge

                             Kapahi Bridge

DATE:              Wednesday, April 11, 2012

PLACE:           Kapaa Middle School Cafeteria

                             4867 Olohena Road

                             Kapaa, HI  96746

TIMES:            3:30 P.M.  – 5:30 P.M. (first meeting)

                             6:30 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.  (repeat meeting)

A presentation by the County of Kauai DPW and design team will be given to the local community and all interested parties regarding the Opaekaa, Puuopae, and Kapahi Bridges.  All three bridges are in a condition of advanced deterioration.  The presentation will address the structural condition of the bridges and will show various design options being proposed by the design team.  The community members will be asked to give their opinions of the options and any other concerns regarding one or all of the bridges. 

All public are welcome.  This is the second community meeting regarding the above noted bridges.

Note:  This meeting is part of Section 106 consultation.

Rehabilitation of the Kapahi Bridge

County of Kauai

Island of Kauai

General:

During the current Archaeological Inventory Survey State Site 50-30-08-2157, the Kapahi Bridge, was identified and documented. Given the alluvial nature of the stream banks and adjacent flat environs, this area could have formerly been a good place to cultivate taro, as Handy and Handy (1972:423) had noted for the area.  However, no evidence for cultivation was evident. 

The Historic Period Kapahi Bridge (State Site 50-30-08-2157) was the only historic property identified in the project area. The one-lane bridge remains in its original location carrying Kawaihau Road over Moalepe Stream. The Kapahi Bridge exhibits a single 36-foot span, with a total length of 38 feet, and the height of the soffit of the bridge above the stream-bed measures approximately 9 feet. The Kapahi Bridge has undergone several design modifications over the years.   The following summary material is based on historic records and summaries previously researched by Spencer Mason Architects (1989).

Although construction may have occurred at an earlier date, the Kapahi Bridge is believed to have been constructed in 1937 (Tonia Moy, Fung and Associates, personal communication). According to Wilson Okamoto & Associates (in Spencer Mason Architects 1989), the current bridge “replaced a three-span, timber stringer bridge.”  Spencer Mason Architects (1989) state that:

No plans for [the Kapahi B]ridge were located in the County Department  [o]f Public Works, not even the plans for the 1997 repair(s)….[The Kapahi Bridge] may date from before 1937, if it is the same bridge that the County Engineer reported was being widened in October of that year. It was not built before 1907, as the map of Kapaa Homesteads in the State Survey Office was based on a worksheet from that year and does not show any bridge crossing Kapaa Stream in that location.

According to Spencer Mason Architects (1989) repairs were made to Kapahi Bridge in 1977. At that time some of the original building materials were replaced, with only the original abutments being retained.  The original timber decking and piers, which were not removed, were replaced by steel girders. However, the southern pier, which had been subjected to flood damage, was removed. As the original wooden planks have become weathered and worn they have been replaced with steel planks.

Kapahi Bridge, and surrounding roads, provided an integral transportation link that led to the success of the homestead lands.  Initially, homesteading was not thought as a highly viable venture by many in the government, most of the homestead lands being controlled (from c. 1913) by large businesses and the government.  There was opposition to homesteads as some thought this simply a ploy for a land grab, which would remove the lands from the profitable sugarcane industry which the lands were farmed.  By 1917, the Kapa`a homesteaders had soundly defeated that argument.

     

In all, Kapahi Bridge performed an elevated transportation and communication function for homesteaders during the Plantation Era.  The bridge represents a strong relationship with early to mid-Twentieth Century land use in the Kapaa Homesteads area.

Photos:

Existing Kapahi Bridge

Existing Kapahi Bridge Deck

Existing Utility Lines

Contact Information:

For more information on this project, please contact Mike Hunnemann at 808-791-5980. Mr. Hunnemann is the Vice President of KAI Hawaii, Inc. a consulting firm in Honolulu.