Posted on: Friday, February 15, 2002
Makapu'u to have rockslide safeguards
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
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| Waimanalo residents have said driving past the cliffs along Kalaniana'ole Highway in Makapu'u can be hazardous because of falling rocks.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser |
It has been seven years since a 500-pound boulder fell on a pickup truck as it passed the Makapu'u rockslide area, leaving passenger Gloria Coveyou with head injuries, a broken back and broken ribs.
Even before the 1995 accident, Waimanalo residents had been beseeching public officials to do something about the danger on the steep cliffs above Kalaniana'ole Highway. But despite Coveyou's accident and subsequent lawsuit, more falling rocks and even further appeals from residents and others concerned with safety through the area, residents say little has been done to reduce the slide risk.
Now the Department of Transportation has decided to spend about $4 million on a temporary fix that will remove part of the mountain and install steel mesh over the slide area. Bids will be solicited in late April or May, and work should begin by the end of the year, said Gary Choy, head of the Transportation Department's design branch.
"At the same time the consultant is doing a study for a long-term fix of Makapu'u," Choy said.
It's about time, said Coveyou, adding that one of the stipulations of her $100,000 settlement with the state in 1998 was that the problem be fixed.
"They closed Sacred Falls because of a rock slide and now Manoa (Falls) is closed because of a rockslide and here we have a really busy state road that goes under a known rockslide and they've done pretty much nothing," said Coveyou, 46, of Makakilo.
Choy acknowledged that not much has been done at Makapu'u, except for removing fallen rocks.
He said the temporary fix is still being designed, but as part of it, about 18,000 square yards of material is expected to be removed from the mountain.
As for a permanent solution, a consultant is studying the possibility of moving the road away from the mountain and building a catchment for rocks, building a cover over the road or digging a tunnel through the mountain, Choy said.
The state is also conducting an islandwide study to pinpoint potential danger spots and prioritize them for improvement.
Wilson Ho, chairman of the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board, said rockslides are common in the area between Makapu'u Lookout and Sea Life Park, and residents often get out of their cars to move debris off the road.
During a rainstorm in December, a 12-foot boulder landed in the middle of the highway at night.
A year ago, five small boulders fell on the road, forcing one lane to be closed for two hours.
Waimanalo residents call the fix ugly, Ho said.
Nevertheless, they are willing to sacrifice esthetics in favor of safety. "People's bottom line was, as ugly as it may be, if it saves somebody from injury or saves somebody from getting killed, we'll take it," Ho said. "We'd like the place to stay beautiful, but right now we'd like the people to be safe."
State Rep. Joe Gomes, R-51st (Waimanalo, Keolu Hills, Lanikai, Enchanted Lake), said the issue has take too long to resolve and he has introduced a bill that would speed up projects in which there is a theat to residents by bypassing the public hearing process.
"The Imminent Danger Bill (HB 1376) will allow the governor to expedite the process in areas like Makapu'u where it's not a question of if another slide will come but when," Gomes said.
Meanwhile, Coveyou said the accident has changed her life.
She said she still suffers memory loss and pain during cold weather. She also avoids the Makapu'u area, having driven there only three times since the accident.
"It takes every ounce of courage I've got to drive over there, and it used to be my favorite drive," she said. "I just loved it."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
