Kalaniana'ole residents want rockslide solution

The latest rockslide along Kalaniana‘ole Highway in the Makapu‘u area has community leaders asking for temporary protective measures until state officials figure out what to do.

Kalaniana‘ole Highway is subject to rockslides in several areas including near Waimea Bay, above. Advertiser Library Photo • July 7, 2000

Meanwhile, state transportation officials said they are awaiting a report due next summer that will recommend what actions to take for the Makapu‘u area.

The latest rockslide was reported at 12:40 a.m. Feb. 11 and closed the Honolulu-bound lane of Kalaniana‘ole Highway near the Makapu‘u Lookout point for nearly two hours. Police said four or five basketball-size boulders that fell onto the road had been dislodged by heavy rains.

The latest slide covered a 10-foot-square area. The highway was reopened at 2:25 a.m., said state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali.

Waimanalo residents fear that a rockslide like the one experienced in Waimea last year could happen at Makapu‘u. Such a slide would add to residents’ commute time and create economic hardship, said Waimanalo Neighborhood Board Chairman Wilson Ho.

People who use the highway to go to work and school in Hawai‘i Kai would have to use the Pali Highway, adding more than an hour to their commute, Ho said.

But it’s the potential danger to people and automobiles that has residents worried, he said. In 1995, a 500-pound boulder fell on a pickup truck and injured a woman passenger.

"When I see the size of some of those rocks, I feel we are blessed and we have been so lucky: us, the tourists, the city bus, the limousines," Ho said.

State highways spokesman Kali said a $1.3 million study, being compiled by consultant Park Engineering, would probably give three or four options for the rockslide area.

"We will hold public informational meetings when the report is released," Kali said.

Some of the options would move the road farther away from the rockslide area or install protective fencing, something similarly done after last year’s Waimea Bay rockslide along Kamehameha Highway.

Other suggestions to protect motorists include boring a tunnel through the mountain range, realigning Kalaniana‘ole Highway to go through an old Board of Water Supply service tunnel, or scaling back the rock formation.

Residents predict economic hardship for local businesses if a rockslide were to close a road. Sea Life Park general manager Wayne Nielsen said tourists could be diverted to the Pali Highway, but he would prefer not having the road closed.

"It would be disruptive, and I’m sure it might turn off people from coming out here," Nielsen said.

Polynesian Adventure Tour offers regular tours to Sea Life Park that includes stops at Hanauma Bay, the Halona Blow Hole and Makapu‘u Lookout. Company president Mike Carr said a roadblock wouldn’t stop the trips to Sea Life Park, but the company would have to eliminate the stops.

"I think it would be a disaster," Carr said, adding that the competition for tourist dollars is so strong on O‘ahu that the company would have to absorb any extra costs incurred by rerouting.

Local businessman Patrick Ching said he relies on tourists just dropping in on his shop, Naturally Hawaiian Gallery. As much as 50 percent of his sales comes from tourists making the Hanauma Bay- Sea Life Park drive, he said.

"If that side was blocked, probably most of my visitor business would be affected," Ching said.

He predicted that the slides would continue, "and there’s a good chance that someone will be hurt."

A state engineer met with the community last year and several options were discussed, Ho said. Residents proposed a safety net to contain falling rocks until a permanent solution is set in place.

Kali said any temporary preventive measures would depend on how serious the consultant believes the problem is.

Help could come through the Legislature. Rep. Joe Gomes, R-51st (Waimanalo-Lanikai) introduced Bill 1239 that would provides money for highway improvements near the rockfall area at Makapu‘u. The bill is before the House Finance Committee.

"We feel that something should have been done a long time ago," Ho said. "But we know that we’re not a community that has a strong voice. If we were Kahala, if we were Manoa, it would have been done years ago."

[back to top]