Damage to a wooden-planked bridge forced the closure of Kaiwiki Road for several hours this morning.
Darryl Oliveira, administrator of the Civil Defense Agency, said the damage was caused by a piece of heavy equipment apparently being trailered across the one-lane bridge over Ma`ili Stream at around 7:30 a.m.
The equipment pulled up some of the bridge’s timbers and damaged others, Oliveira said.
The damage was discovered by a crew from the Department of Public Works attempting to cross the bridge above Hilo.
He said several trucks apparently crossed the bridge before county workers blocked the way.
Google Maps image.
More public works personnel were dispatched to the bridge to install new timbers.
Oliveira said the damage was restricted to the bridge’s surface.
“Fortunately, it didn’t damage the structure,” he said.
By around 11 a.m., enough of the timbers had been repaired to allow some of the waiting motorists to cross.
The work was done and normal traffic resumed at about 1:30 p.m.
Oliveira credited the county workers for getting the bridge back in shape in a short time.
“The public works carpentry crew did an awesome job,” he said.
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