Posted on: Friday, February 14, 2003

Rockfall work at Lalea may start next week

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — Work could begin as early as next week on rockfall remedies at Lalea, the East Honolulu townhome development where two boulders smashed into two parked cars and caused the evacuation of 26 families in early December.

The landowner, Kamehameha Schools, still must obtain some city permits and work out legal logistics among the three entities: the Lalea homeowners, Kamehameha Schools and the developer, Castle & Cooke, said Philip Nerney, the lawyer representing the Association of Apartment Owners of Lalea at Hawai'i Kai.

The plan calls for an expanded catchment system and anchoring boulders in place, then covering them with two layers of mesh. The preliminary plan had already been unveiled, but Lalea residents received a detailed update Tuesday night at a closed meeting.

"Everyone seems to agree on the concept of the design created by Earth Tech," Nerney said, adding that the owners were "reasonably satisfied with the opportunity to have their questions addressed."

Work will begin on the first phase makai of where the boulders tumbled on Thanksgiving evening. In that first phase, Earth Tech, the geologist hired by the landowner, will carve a ditch system 3 deep and about 20 wide, widening a natural catchment area that serves that part of the development now, said Doug Carlson, spokesman for Castle & Cooke.

"There's a (natural) catchment system there now, and they're going to put in an engineered ditch that is based on rockfall simulations to catch any boulders that loosen," Nerney said.

The new catchment ditch will be unlined except for an area where there is a vertical slope, and that will be lined with concrete to ensure the integrity of the system, Carlson said.

This area is considered a lower risk than the other area, Nerney said.

The work is expected to take three months.

In the second phase, geologists plan to build a mesh cage around 17 boulders or boulder clusters after scraping loose any debris or loose rocks. The cage will be anchored deep into the bedrock and then the area will be draped with two screened meshes, similar to what was used by the state above Makapu'u Beach to prevent rocks from falling onto Kalaniana'ole Highway, Nerney said.

In all, he said, geologists expect the work to take about six months.

Previous estimates have indicated that the work will cost about $3 million.

"We'll end up with a triple layer of protection," Nerney said.

The two boulders that crashed down the ridge on Thanksgiving smashed into two cars and hit the window of one townhome. A week later, on Dec. 6, after geologists made their assessment of potential risks, residents in two buildings nearest the hillside were told to leave their homes and to anticipate not being able to return for a year.

Castle & Cooke and Kamehameha Schools are paying for the temporary housing costs.

Reach Suzanne Roig at 395-8831 or sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.