Proposal to stabilize Waikīkī shoreline moves forward

Waikīkī Beach. Image courtesy of Hawaii News Now.

A new plan to stabilize a famous stretch of shoreline is moving forward. Funding for the Royal Hawaiian Groin Replacement project will be provided by the state and commercial property owners in Waikīkī. “If the current Royal Hawaiian groin was to fail, it would result in a catastrophic loss of the beach over the course of several months,” explained Dolan Eversole, UH Sea Grant Coastal Processes Specialist and Waikīkī Beach Management Coordinator.

The state put in sandbags to temporarily shore up the groin which was built in 1927 between the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and the Sheraton Waikīkī. “It essentially holds together Waikīkī Beach,” said Eversole. “It is on the verge of failure. It’s showing a lot of signs of imminent failure.”

The Waikīkī Beach Special Improvement District Association is also working on a beach management plan that will include sand replenishment. A two-year University of Hawai‘i study of the state’s 2012 beach nourishment concluded that the project was successful despite ongoing erosion. “Initially, the beach was widened about 30 feet with the re-nourishment project and today about 20 of that feet remains. Today, it’s about 20 feet wider than it was prior to the nourishment project,” said Chip Fletcher, professor of Geology and Geophysics (G&G) and SOEST’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Read more about it at Hawaii News Now.