Longtime Mōʻiliʻili resident and community organizer Laura Ruby is urging city officials and neighborhood boards to halt plans for a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Ala Wai Canal. The proposed span would shorten a roughly 1-mile route between University Avenue and Kālaimoku Street to about 300 feet, but it has sparked years of debate over cost, design, and neighborhood impact. With contractor selection and procurement deadlines approaching, Ruby is calling for a full environmental impact statement instead of moving forward with a narrower review.
Design contest hits a decisive week
The city’s design-build solicitation for the Ala Wai bridge moved into the formal procurement phase late last year, and industry listings show the process is hitting a key checkpoint this week. Several procurement trackers list on Monday as the deadline for the first round of submissions, known as Part 1, which focuses on qualifications. Those summaries describe a two-part selection process that will create a shortlist of teams before inviting full design proposals. Procurement aggregators and tender sites captured the public posting and schedule for the job, including notices of interested firms on the city’s roster, as reported by Bids & Awards and TenderImpulse.
What the city says about scope and funding
On paper, the Ala Pono project is straightforward: a roughly 300-foot clear-span pedestrian and bicycle bridge connecting the University Avenue corridor to Waikīkī at Kālaimoku Street, intended to better link neighborhoods, parks and schools. City documents and earlier coverage put the price tag in the tens of millions, roughly in the 55 to 63 million dollar range after inflation.
A 25 million dollar discretionary federal grant helped push the federal share close to 80 percent of total costs. The Department of Transportation Services says the actual schedule for final design and construction will hinge on completing environmental reviews and securing required permits, as outlined by Honolulu DTS and Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
Ruby’s push for a full EIS
Ruby has been lobbying neighborhood boards to press the city for a full environmental impact statement instead of accepting the narrower review already completed. At least one local board has taken her side: city meeting records show the McCully–Mōʻiliʻili neighborhood board adopted a resolution last year calling for expanded environmental review.
The Ala Wai bridge has since become a recurring item on neighborhood agendas across Mōʻiliʻili, Diamond Head and Makiki, with residents using those meetings to question the project’s environmental, cultural and traffic impacts. The official record of those discussions appears in the city’s meeting listings and minutes, as shown in the McCully–Mōʻiliʻili board materials on Honolulu.gov.
Neighbors split, officials bristle
Public opinion is sharply divided. Supporters argue the bridge will finally create a safer, more direct walking and biking link into Waikīkī, especially for students and workers who now navigate longer, traffic-heavy routes. Opponents worry the new crossing will bring noise, crime and cut-through traffic to their side of the canal, permanently changing the feel of nearby blocks…