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County, state officials help Kaupo celebrate school lease

Mayor Alan Arakawa and state and county lawmakers are expected to attend the Kaupo Community Association meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday to recognize the awarding of a 55-year lease of the old Kaupo School property to the association.

Roadwork issues affecting residents also will be discussed at the meeting in the old Kaupo School.

Maui County Council Member Kelly King and state Rep. Lynn DeCoite are expected to attend. Council Member Bob Carroll also may attend the meeting.

The mayor has been scheduled to attend for a long time, said Kaupo resident and association board member Jonathan Starr on Wednesday. A county spokesman confirmed that the mayor will be attending.

The transfer of management for the property from the state to the county and the lease to the association opened the way for the restoration of the historic classroom building and teachers’ cottage for use as a community resource center and hazard and weather mitigation facility, the association news release said.

The work is being done with the assistance of the state, county, Historic Hawai’i Foundation and private contributors, the news release said.

Also on the agenda is the Waiopai Bridge repair project at Mileposts 28 and 29 on Piilani Highway, which could begin Sept. 10, though the date is not firm, said Starr. The original plan called for shutting down the bridge and access to East Maui from the Kanaio approach of Piilani Highway, which riled Kaupo residents.

After discussions with county officials, it appears that the bridge will be closed at nights for 14 days, said Starr. The contractor, SSFM Engineering, and the county Public Works Department appear to be doing “everything possible to limit closures to nighttime and partial lane and to keep best possible communication with local community members,” he said.

Brooks Aoki of SSFM and engineering specialists will be attending Saturday’s meeting.

Built in 1982, the existing bridge needs structural repairs and replacement of the bridge deck, railings and guardrails, the county said. The approach guardrails and posts were found to be severely corroded, and the bridge parapets have defects along the entire length.

The top surface of the concrete deck is in poor condition with patches, delamination and spalling over more than 60 percent of the deck area with cracking present in the structure, the county said.

About $1.5 million has been allotted for the bridge repair project. Starr said the contractor plans to use a similar method for alerting residents about project updates through email as was used for the Nuanualoa landslide project.

That project at Milepost 37 called for fixing erosion issues on Piilani Highway. The $2 million project, which began earlier this year, was completed earlier this week, Starr said. The road was closed weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The contractor, Hawaiian Dredging, “did excellently at communicating and keeping the road open every evening and night as promised,” Starr said.

The meeting is free and open to the public. A potluck lunch will be shared after the business meeting.

* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com. This story includes a correction from the original posted Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018, due to information provided to The Maui News.

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