HECO sheds light on Pali
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KAILUA — After 18 months of problems with lights in and outside the Pali tunnels, state officials have decided that Hawaiian Electric Co. is better equipped to deal with them.
Under a new contract with the state, HECO has agreed to repair and maintain the electrical system that powers a string of lights in the Pali tunnels and on the streets leading to the tunnels on the Windward side.
The latest problem involves lights on the Kailua side of the tunnels. They have been out for about a month, leaving motorists in the dark for more than a half-mile as they leave the tunnel headed down the mountain toward the most hazardous part of the road: a sweeping turn followed quickly by a hairpin turn.
On Thursday HECO installed a new transformer that will serve the lights in and outside the tunnel, to the hairpin turn. The lights should be working in two weeks, said Martin Okabe, the Department of Transportation's district engineer for O'ahu.
It can't come soon enough for Kailua resident George Gonsalves Jr., who said it's dangerous to drive that stretch in the dark.
"I think it's a disaster when you come down," he said. "I can't understand why it takes so long to get the lights fixed."
The electrical system that powers the lights is about 50 years old, and belongs to the state Department of Transportation.
A power failure a year and a half ago left commuters in the dark for five months. Back then, the DOT spent $4,000 on a new transformer to fix the street lights from the tunnel to the hairpin turn. But those lights went out again when the tunnel lights experienced problems in June.
Okabe said once the tunnel lights started to go in June, power was drawn from the new transformer to the tunnel lights and that caused the street lights to go out.
DOT reduced the lights in the tunnel in June to ensure some lighting in them.
The agreement between DOT and HECO is the best solution for the area because the electric company has the supplies and expertise to maintain and repair the equipment, Okabe said.
"We're not really in the electrical supply business," he said. "We just try to use our facilities as best we can."
Okabe didn't know how much the state would pay for the maintenance contract.
HECO spokesman Fred Kobashikawa said the company will take care of electrical distribution for the tunnel and street lights, including regular inspection.
"We're working with the Department of Transportation to make that transition as easy and as quickly as possible because there's a lot of anxious motorists out there," Kobashikawa said.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
