HONOLULU (AP) - A project to replenish the sand at Waikiki Beach is expected to finish by mid-May.
Starting in January, sand was dredged from a barge offshore, piped onshore and piled in a large pyramid that covered much of Kuhio Beach, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Tuesday.
Beginning Monday, workers began scooping truckloads of sand from the pyramid and hauling it along the shoreline to widen the beach that fronts the Moana Surfrider and Royal Hawaiian resorts.
The sand hill had been about 30 feet (about 9 meters) high, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. It was composed of roughly 20,000 cubic yards (about 15,300 cubic meters) of marine sand pumped from the ocean floor.
Workers are scheduled to move the sand from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays in order to complete the project by Memorial Day.
“Instead of hauling sand seven half-days each week, as originally planned, this new schedule should cut the total days on-site by at least two weeks,” said Dolan Eversole, a spokesperson for the Waikiki Beach Special Improvement District Association.
The Waikiki Beach Special Improvement District Association will provide $1 million for the project while the state will foot the bill for the remaining $3 million.
The active construction zone where the sand is being placed will be marked off each day with cones, tape and barricades. The beach will remain open but sections along the truck haul route will be closed while work is in progress.
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