HONOLULU — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the cost estimate for a flood prevention project on Oahu has doubled, striking another blow to the effort.
The Corps said a financial analysis on Friday has raised the cost of the Ala Wai Flood Risk Management Project to more than $650 million, which could force it back to the drawing board again, Hawaii News Now reported. It was already redesigned after complaints about major construction in old neighborhoods.
The project is designed to prevent heavy rains upstream of Waikiki from flooding the district.
Previous designs estimated costs of $345 million, with the state paying $121 million and federal funds covering the remaining amount. A plan announced in November upped the price to about $376 million with a $48 million contingency.
Project Manager Jeff Herzog said the updates to the project on the city’s historic Ala Wai Canal would decrease the impact on residential properties and natural streams.
The updates would also consolidate two pump stations into a single station at the Ala Wai Golf Course and eliminate six detention basins in the upper watershed.