A project to rebuild Waikiki's Kuhio Beach by pumping sand from offshore is expected to start tomorrow after a month of delays because of weather and waves.

Yesterday, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources began laying the pipe that will carry offshore sand onto the beach in an effort to increase the sandy areas of the beach.

"This is not introducing new sand but bringing back the sand that was once there, and that is compatible with the existing sand beach," said DLNR Chairman Peter Young in a news release.

The project had been delayed for a month by high surf. Contractor American Marine Corp. needed a five-day window to get the equipment up and ready to go.

Although there was a high-surf warning yesterday morning, the waves weren't big enough to halt the work.

A portion of the beach roughly across Kalakaua Avenue from St. Augustine Church will be closed off for 20 to 30 days to make room for drying 10,000 cubic yards of offshore sand.

Once the sand has dried, the beach will be closed in the evenings while sand is hauled from from the staging area to the 'Ewa Basin and the beach fronting the Duke Kahanamoku statue.

The project is not expected to change the dynamics of the surf break. The DLNR said it will post daily water quality updates while the sand is being moved around.

Yesterday, contractor American Marine Corp. anchored a hydraulic barge about 2,000 feet offshore. Then DLNR employees placed marker buoys to serve as a guide to place an 8-inch pipeline from the barge to the shore.

Tomorrow, the pumping will begin. The $500,000 project is seen as an opportunity for the state to demonstrate its new beach nourishment equipment.

"We believe this is a great opportunity to test new, state-of-the-art offshore sand-pumping technologies that can reclaim beach sand that washed into nearshore deposits. We think it is cost effective to return it onshore to Kuhio Beach," Young said.