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Blue rock crushing, blasting work ongoing at Kihei high school site

Earth is moving for new Kihei school: Phase 1 includes installing utilities like cable, electricity, water

By Melissa Tanji 3 min read

KIHEI -- Slowly, things are taking shape on the Kihei high school campus since grading began in July.

Visible is a roughly graded pad for one of the tennis courts. The outline of a soccer field also can be seen, said Ty Fukuroku, public works engineer for the state's Department of Accounting and General Services.

The department is overseeing the construction contract for Phase 1 of the school, which includes grading work and the installation of utilities such as cable, electricity and water. The school has two wells that supply brackish water for construction and irrigation. The quality of water from the wells was incorrectly reported in a previous story.

The 77-acre site site is on what's been scrub brush mauka of the intersection of Piilani Highway and Kulanihakoi Street.

"I'm really happy with the progress," Fukuroku said at the site on Tuesday. "I hope we can keep the momentum going."

Phase 1 is expected to be complete by April 2020, he said.

It will be followed by Phase 2, which consists of the vertical construction and includes classroom, library, cafeteria and administration buildings, a physical education room and two parking lots, along with a clay court and playfield.

Bid protests were filed for Phase 2 and have not yet been resolved, according to state Department of Education spokeswoman Sherie Char.

The work on the school is on schedule, and the DOE expects the campus to open for the 2021-22 school year, she said. No decision has been made whether the school would open to all grades at once, or on a staggered basis, she added.

Phase 3 of construction includes a gymnasium and classrooms for electives such as music, industrial, visual and digital arts.

On Tuesday morning, crews from contractor Goodfellow Bros. Inc. were busy with bulldozers and excavators. Much of the work involves moving blue rock.

Explosives are placed 9 to 17 feet underground through narrow holes to break the rock, to make it easier for heavy equipment to unearth and move.

Fukuroku said traffic is stopped for a couple of minutes along Piilani Highway when the blasts are done. Police officers have been hired to manage traffic.

Goodfellow Bros.' subsidiary, Blasting Technology, is conducting the explosive work. Preparation was being done Tuesday morning for blasting later in the day.

A separate company, Vibra-Tech, monitors the blasts' effects, Fukuroku said. Most of the blasts cannot be felt across the highway, he added.

Water trucks keep down dust. Following the blasts, heavy equipment excavates the rocks and soil.

The rocks go through an on-site crusher that turns out various sizes of rocks and material that will be used in construction. It eliminates the need for trucks to haul material off and on the site.

"We are utilizing all the material we are making," said laborer Alan Santos.

Project manager Daniel Goodfellow Jr. said the rock crusher can churn out various sizes of rock.

The tennis court pad used gravel. Fukuroku said larger rocks will be used to line the two gulches on the property to prevent erosion.

Construction is mainly done Monday to Friday, with some work on Saturdays.

Crews pushed back their starting times a half an hour to address noise complaints from residents, Fukuroku said. Crews now begin at 7:30 a.m. and work to 4 p.m.

Santos is proud of the work being done.

"I feel blessed to work on this. It's a big deal for the community."

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

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