Q. I just saw what looked to be a group of teenagers walking down the side of Kalaniana'ole Highway with rifles. I doubt they were real guns, but I'm wondering whether you have to be a certain age to possess a paintball or BB gun.

A. Before I get into the age issue, there's already a problem here. It's illegal for anyone to carry paintball or airsoft guns in public unless they're in cases or securely wrapped. If the youths are under 18, it's illegal for them to be carrying the guns on public roads or land at all.

Violators face fines up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail.

However, there's no age requirement regarding possession. In fact, Brandon Cayetano, owner of Hawai'i All Star Paintball Games, said he's insured to cover kids as young as 10. "Any younger than that, it gets kind of dicey," he said.

There are referees on the field during birthday parties and other events, he said.

If you had trouble figuring out if the gun was real or a replica, it was probably an airsoft gun, which fires plastic pellets. "They're pretty much dead ringers for the real thing," Cayetano said. "That's the attraction."

Since there is no officially sanctioned place to play in Kailua or Hawaii Kai, Cayetano suspects you saw "renegades" who disregard the law prohibiting the guns on public land. "They want to do things on their own and that causes problems for everyone else," he said. "They think they're higher than the law, but they're not."

Q. About three years ago, one of the spans of the bridge on Kamehameha Highway between the Arizona Memorial and the Navy Supply Center was removed and a detour was put in. Then the construction company left, leaving a crane and bulldozer behind. Is anyone ever going to come back?

A. The short answer is yes. According to Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa, work on the $7.2 million Halawa Stream bridge replacement project will resume at the end of the month.

The project was halted late last year while the state tracked down the owner of an uncharted utility line.

"Several months and tax maps later, it was determined that the sensitive communications line belonged to the military," Ishikawa said. "The line was eventually relocated, but the lengthy work stoppage meant we had to renegotiate with the contractor over increased costs for construction materials."