FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             December 16, 2005

CITY WILL REMOVE KANEWAI FOOTBRIDGE

            Crews from the City Department of Facility Maintenance will begin dismantling the footbridge over lower Manoa Stream at Kanewai Park on Monday, December 19, DFM Director Laverne Higa announced today.

            The bridge connects the City park with the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus, and UH officials first proposed its removal several years ago, saying it represents a security problem.  

            The bridge was damaged in the October 30, 2004, flooding, and UH officials renewed their request for the bridge to be removed, citing health and safety concerns.

            The damage made the bridge unsafe, and UH officials fenced it off and posted warning signs to prevented people from using it. The fence has been repeatedly vandalized and some people ignored the warnings and continued using the bridge.

            Workers from the Road Maintenance Division of the Department of Facility Maintenance will remove the bridge after the UH fall semester ends, Higa said.

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Contact:

            Jim Manke, 956-6099

            Mark Matsunaga, 527-5767