NIU VALLEY — The above-ground sewer bypass in the middle of Kalaniana'ole Highway will remain for three more years until the city can build a new underground sewer main, a city official said.

The temporary bypass, stamped with the words "Live Sewage," is a daily reminder to East Honolulu commuters of the ongoing sewer work.

The bypass, which runs from just west of the Niu Valley Shopping Center to Pu'uikena Drive at Hawai'i Loa Ridge, will be there until sometime in 2008, city spokesman Mark Matsunaga said.

The above-ground bypass was installed last spring to carry the load of a faulty sewer force main that had dumped raw sewage onto the highway and into the ocean in February, prompting the closure of lanes and some beaches.

The force main collects untreated sewage from Kuli'ou'ou to the east and from as far away as Kalani High School to the west and pumps it through bigger pipes to the sewage treatment plant at Sand Island.

The replacement project is expected to take at least three years while officials obtain emergency money from the City Council to design and build a new underground force main.

The project is expected to cost about $10 million, Matsunaga said.

The city put in the temporary, above-ground sewer line because the corroded 45-year-old underground sewer line burst three times in February.

"The alternative is to have continuous spills because of the condition of the force main," Ma-tsunaga said.

During the night repair work, pau-hana traffic was backed up, sometimes for hours. Although the sewer work is a county-financed project, it was done along a state road, and the state gave the city authority to order a contraflow lane to keep traffic moving. The bypass pipes, which run above ground down a portion of the median strip, cost the city $780,000.

The city has been regularly inspecting and monitoring the above-ground sewer pipe, Ma-tsunaga said.

"It is on the surface, but the alternative was to keep using the underground force main and dealing with spills," he said. "This is the wisest course of action and the most environmentally safe."

Sewer main staying put

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.