HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	27
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

urging the city and county of honolulu to conduct a one year pilot program that uses concrete for repairing kamehameha IV road and Kalihi Street rather than asphalt.

     WHEREAS, for many years Honolulu's roadways have been plagued with potholes and in a constant state of disrepair; and

     WHEREAS, an audit of the City and County of Honolulu's Road Maintenance Division (Division) conducted in 2005 concluded that problems inside the Division and political influence from outside the Division resulted in years of inefficient planning and work, which in turn contributed to the poor road conditions currently faced by the City and County of Honolulu; and

     WHEREAS, the 2005 audit further concluded that the Division routinely failed to follow good industry practices, complying with only two of the 24 best practices identified in road maintenance agencies across the nation; and

     WHEREAS, it was further found that the Division had no comprehensive plan that prioritized road repairs and often relied on citizen complaints, political pressure, or "gut feelings" when determining which roads to give the most attention to; and

     WHEREAS, potholes, a common occurrence around Oahu particularly during heavy rainfalls, were an especially troublesome problem for the Division because the Division had no clear work standards for repairing potholes, failed to follow any rules the Division did have regarding potholes, thereby resulting in a "quantity over quality" approach to pothole repair; and

     WHEREAS, in February of 2005, Division crews filled approximately 6,300 potholes around Oahu in a planned "War on Potholes" program which attempted to provide temporary quick fixes to roadways to reduce the wear and tear on vehicles using the roads, which contributed to over $53,000 being spent by the City and County of Honolulu to settle pothole damage complaints in 2003-2004; and

     WHEREAS, it is estimated that the City and County of Honolulu has approximately 3,400 miles of roadway under its jurisdiction and that about 645 of those lane miles are in need of major roadwork, with estimates for repairing a large portion of Oahu's pothole ridden roads reaching $70,000,000; and

     WHEREAS, concrete roads have an estimated life of 40 years or more, compared to ten years for bituminious ones and often require little or no maintenance, while bituminious ones need frequent repairs due to damage by traffic and weather; and

     WHEREAS, concrete pads have been used by the City and County of Honolulu in areas heavily used by city buses since concrete paving is rigid and does not deflect under very heavy loads, thus contributing to the longevity of the roadway;  now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is urged to develop and implement a one year pilot project for repairing Kalihi Street and Kamehameha IV Road using concrete rather than bituminious materials; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the City and County of Honolulu is further urged to complete a cost benefit analysis of the pilot project to determine the feasibility of expanding the use of concrete to repair all of Oahu's roadways; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED a final report, and any proposed legislation, be transmitted by the City and County of Honolulu to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, members of the Honolulu City Council, and the Director of the Department of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu.

OFFERED BY:

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