The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is conducting a three month project to restore sand to approximately 1,730 feet of shoreline from the west end of the Kuhio Beach crib walls, near the Duke Kahanamoku statue, to the existing Royal Hawaiian groin between the Royal Hawaiian and Sheraton Waikiki hotels.
Beach maintenance activities are scheduled to run until March 2012 and will require the temporary closure of parts of Kuhio Beach.
The proposed project will improve Waikiki Beach by restoring a valuable and heavily utilized recreational beach, and will have significant beneficial impacts to recreational activities consistent with protecting the local environment.
The economic value of Waikiki Beach to Hawaii‘s visitor industry and the economic success of Waikiki as a visitor destination are extremely significant. The estimated socio-economic loss to the state would be quite high if Waikiki Beach is not maintained and is allowed to erode away – a $2 billion loss in overall visitor expenditures, a $150 million loss in tax revenue, and a job loss of 6,350 people.
Project activities:
• Recovery of up to 24,000 cubic yards of sand from deposits located 1,500 to 3,000 feet offshore of the project area in a water depth of about 10 to 20 feet.
• Pumping sand to an onshore dewatering site within the eastern Kuhio Beach crib walls.
• Transport of the sand along the shore in the project area with a low pressure pneumatic sand blower, using a small plastic pipe. Sand will be placed according to design beach profiles to ensure the right amount of sand is located in the correct sections of beach.
• Removal of two deteriorated groin structures located makai of the Duke Kahanamoku statue.
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Dredging Today Staff, February 10, 2012; Image: hawaii.gov