By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Police and transportation officials agree they need to do a better job of keeping drivers informed when they have to shut down major roadways to investigate accidents like the ones that closed H-1 Freeway twice in the past month.

"People are frustrated. They want more information when they're stuck in a traffic jam," City Councilman Mike Gabbard told police officials last week at a hastily scheduled briefing before the Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental Affairs.

"We hear the complaints just as much as you do," said police Maj. Brian Wauke, head of HPD's traffic division. "And it's not just from constituents, but our wives, too."

Committee members wanted to know how police could limit delays when they have to investigate serious accidents, but Wauke and others said there's little they can do to make the situation better — except for letting people know what's causing the delay, and how long it may last.

"We know the most frustrating thing is not knowing why you are stuck in traffic and for how long," said Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa. "We're making a concerted effort to get the word out."

In one case earlier this month which closed all three east-bound lanes of H-1 Freeway during the morning rush for nearly three hours, police stationed at the city's Traffic Management Center quickly called Hawai'i radio and television stations and got word posted on the electronic message signs along the highways.

Not that it was much consolation to the people caught in the crunch. Since there are nearly 13,500 cars on the H-1 corridor at that time of day, traffic quickly backed up as far away as Makakilo.

Police said making a careful investigation in a safe environment takes time. "We need to gather all the evidence before anything can be moved, and sometimes the evidence is scattered across all three lanes of the road, forcing us to close it," Wauke said.

Council members wondered why they see reports that some Mainland jurisdictions can reportedly make quicker investigations and clear an accident scene in less than 60 minutes.

"I don't believe that's possible," Wauke said. "Maybe in other places that have wider highways and more alternative roads to divert traffic, but they still have to do the accident investigations properly."

Sometimes diverting traffic from an accident scene, such as those on H-1, can just create more problems on Honolulu's already crowded streets, Lung said.

Setting up contraflow lanes, as some Council members suggested, simply isn't practical when you are dealing with corridors as long as H-1 or Nimitz Highway. "We'd have to have thousands of cones to close off every single driveway for miles and we just don't have the resources to do that," Wauke said.

Wauke offered a ray of hope for motorists already cringing at the thought of the next traffic jam down the road.

The city is considering the use of high-technology 3D laser imaging devices to record an accident scene and reconstruct it later.

"We're looking at some systems, but we don't know if they really save time or if they will hold up when challenged in court," he said.

• Traffic alert: Officials are warning motorists about possible traffic delays around the Hawai'i Convention Center this weekend.

More than 17,000 members of the American Association of Orthodonists are expected to attend a meeting there May 2-6.

Officials say traffic may be slower than usual on roadways near the center from 6:30 and 8 a.m. and from noon to 2:30 p.m. while the convention is under way.

Mike Leidemann's Drive Time column runs Tuesdays. Reach him at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.