‘Traffic emergency’ declared on North Shore highway after erosion

COURTESY OF HAWAII DOT

The Hawaii Department of Transportation issued a “traffic emergency designation” for a 65-foot portion of Kamehameha Highway just north of Kualoa Ranch.

Work to repair erosion damage to a section of Kamehameha Highway may slow North Shore traffic near Kualoa Regional Park through Christmas.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation has designated a portion of the highway a “traffic emergency zone” after inspecting the shoreline on Monday prompted by reports from the public, spokesperson Shelly Kunishige told the Star-Advertiser.

Responding employees found visible damage on a 65-foot section of the makai shoulder just north of the park, including the exposed base of a utility pole, HDOT Civil Engineer Bruce Kawakami said at a virtual traffic hearing this morning.

Kunishige told the Star-Advertiser in an email that suspected cause of the issue was shoreline erosion and wave action — an ongoing issue on the North Shore.

Designating the area a “traffic emergency zone” allows for certain permits to be expedited or waived in order to fix the road as quickly as possible.

Repairs began Tuesday, Kawakami said, and while the project’s time estimate was 15 days, he expected it to be completed before Christmas.

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The agency plans to close the highway one lane at a time, Kawakami said, which will allow for traffic to continue as HDOT facilitates repairs.

Kawakami said the agency will repair the area by creating a revetment, or protective barrier, with boulders and existing cobble. It will also back-fill the existing barrier and relocate the utility pole to the mauka side of the road.

It is unclear whether the issue was related to recent onslaught of rain Oahu in recent days.

See more:Traffic

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