The Bridges of Hāmākua

On Sunday, July 17, 2022, NexTech Hawaiʻi hosted a new event called Bridges of Hāmākua. Sixteen students from 9 schools around Hawaiʻi Island, grades 8-11, toured around Hilo, exploring the history and designs of the famous bridges of East Hawaiʻi. Four parents joined students on this day learning adventure.

Starting at the center of Hilo at Wailoa Park, where the group introduced themselves to each other and learned the stories of Lokelani Brantʻs mural of Piʻopiʻo outside of the Wailoa Art Center, the history of the location (the location of Shinmachi), and the bridges that straddled Wailoa River

During the cultural orientation, we acknowledged several ahupuaʻa (land divisions), wahi pana (storied places), and geographic features of Hilo (rivers separating sections of Hilo town and the historic Wailoa bridge) to set the stage for the rest of our tour.

Afterward, we stopped near the Waikuku bridge and learned about the devastation of the 1946 tsunami that washed away part of the Hilo railway spanning the river before heading to Kolekole Beach Park.

Our group was granted special permission to access Kolekole Beach Park, where we had an in-depth presentation about the Kolekole bridge - its history, features, and the bridge renovation project. Participants were offered team activities to reinforce knowledge of bridge features and engineering.

After the bridge visit, the group was treated to lunch (bentos!) at Waiākea High School. This was followed by an afternoon of hands-on investigation and bridge-building. The day culminated in a final engineering competition where teams went head-to-head to test the strength and durability of their very own model bridges.

Mahalo to SSFM, Waiakea High School, the State Department of Transportation, participants, families, and NexTech Hawaiʻi volunteers for helping make this event a success.