PEARL CITY, Hawaii —The life of a road in Hawaii is sometimes cut short because of our tropical climate. It’s driving the city and county and the University of Hawaii to team up and find out what can be done.
“This is the most excitement we’ve had in the neighborhood in years,” says Bruce Erickson of Pearl City.
Residents on one Pearl City street are helping to pave the way to a smoother and safer drive. It’s a small inconvenience temporarily to prevent paying a bigger price later.
“If we don’t malama, this road and take care of it, it’s going to get pukas and we’re going to have to come in and spend more money,” says Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
Kaweloka street is divided into sections. Some will be sealed while others will be left alone and used for comparisons. “So, essentially we’re going to look at how the deterioration progresses in all these types of sections and try to determine the effectiveness of different treatments,” says Ricardo Archilla, University of Hawaii at Manoa associate professor.
Six different products will be used in the study. Liquid Road is one of them and in about two years, the city will find out which is the best for Hawaii’s roads. “We’re going to see what results we get and we’re going to apply those products that last the longest and get the biggest bang for the buck,” says Caldwell.
Right now the city is repaving 48 percent of Hawaii roads spending $150 million a year for five years. Treatment now will save money down the road.
“That’s saving tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars for just a couple million a year.
It’s a unique way for the University of Hawaii and the city and county to cover the costs of maintaining Hawaii’s roads.
There are currently 14 ongoing projects to repave 504 miles of roads on Oahu. Pavement preservation will help reduce the number of potholes that need to be patched. The city has filled nearly 31,000 potholes so far this year.
http://www.kitv.com/news/new-products-tested-to-preserve-oahu-roads/29732226