Construction workers are racing against the clock to get the track on the school’s athletic field finished in time for this Friday’s football game against Leilehua High School.
The blue track, which was installed in 2018, was closed to users at the end of the track season last spring. Because the track surrounds the athletic field, the field has been unavailable to the students at Moanalua High School, including the Music Department and the Athletic Department.
“Workers needed to replace the rubber surface, which had worn out,” Moanalua High School Athletic Director Joel Kawachi said. Parts of the field could not be watered during that time, he said, explaining the dry patches on the turf.
The top layer of the track had begun to sink, causing drainage problems. Kawachi said workers needed to replace the track surface one layer at a time over the original gravel foundation.
The last step will be to paint the lanes. Until that happens the new surface will not be used for official track events. Students will be able to walk on it from the bleachers to the football field, however, so while the athletes and marching band members will be able to walk over it to get to the field, the cheerleaders won’t be able to be on the track for Friday’s game.
