By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
The state Department of Transportation has agreed to install rumble strips on Kalaniana‘ole Highway outside the Olomana Golf Course entrance as a safety measure in response to a head-on crash that killed Waimanalo resident Lorrie Wiley on Jan. 2.
Transportation director-designate Brian Minaai informed Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th District (Kailua-Waimanalo), in a Jan. 19 letter that a work order has been issued for the rumble strips to be installed in the Waimanalo-bound lanes. The Waimanalo Neighborhood Board requested the improvement after the accident.
"People say the rumble strips are annoying, but if it saves one life, if it wakes someone up coming home late from a disco and helps avoid a head-on collision, it will be worth it," said Waimanalo Neighborhood Board member Andrew Jamila Jr.
He also would like to see another flashing yellow light to warn people where the highway narrows from four lanes to two and begins to curve.
Jamila said he knows of two people who have died there in automobile accidents.
He said he was especially saddened by Wiley’s death because he knew her through computer classes that she taught for his Waimanalo Construction Coalition.
Wiley, 32, died when a vehicle driven by another Waimanalo resident struck her car head-on as she headed to work at 5:25 a.m. Police say the other driver’s blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit.
That driver, who was hospitalized for several days following the accident, has not been charged, but police have said an indictment will be sought.
The work for the rumble strip project, which will be done by the Transportation Department, hasn’t been scheduled, said Marilyn Kali, department spokeswoman.
"The work order has been issued and it should be (scheduled) within the next few weeks," she said.
[back to top] |
