Deadly Waimanalo curve to get improvements
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
Five days after Ramus Seabury was killed in a head-on collision on a deadly section of road near Olomana Golf Links in Waimanalo, state officials have decided to install barriers and extra warning devices to help prevent more accidents.
State transportation director Rod Haraga had initially resisted efforts by area residents who insisted that a median was the only solution that would provide ample safety at the location on Kalaniana'ole Highway. A barrier would only create more hazards on the narrow stretch of road, Haraga had said.
But by yesterday, he had come to the same conclusion as the residents.
"My feeling is a physical barrier would probably work to discourage people from cutting each other off at the bottom of the hill," Haraga said yesterday. "But this will not preclude drunks from speeding and going over the median."
Police have said that alcohol was a factor in the Sunday accident in which a 19-year-old man apparently fell asleep at the wheel of his truck near the golf course and crashed into a vehicle driven by Seabury, 62, of Waimanalo.
Two years ago Lorrie-Ann Wiley, 32, of Waimanalo, died near the same location after a drunken driver drifted across the center line and hit her head-on as she drove toward Kailua.
The state's quick action following Seabury's death did little to console his wife, Harriet.
"Why didn't they do something after the Wiley girl died?" Harriet Seabury said yesterday upon learning of Haraga's announcement. "The state knew it was dangerous and didn't do anything about it. Why did my husband have to die before they would put up the barriers?"
Haraga said the two deaths prompted him to act. He said is taking a two-pronged approach to preventing more accidents.
Next week the Department of Transportation will install more raised dots in the painted median above the entrance to the golf course, he said, adding that the reflective warning devices should alert drivers who have drifted out of their lanes.
And in about two weeks, some kind of barrier will be installed, he said. Engineers are working out the details and deciding what those barriers should be, Haraga said.
"At this time the first reaction is let's put something in if we can save one more life," he said. "We're looking for the cheapest and most effective way to do it."
Harriet Seabury said the location of the barriers will make a big difference in whether they protect people.
"I want to make sure the barriers would help the people coming up from around the turn," Seabury said.
The barriers need to be closer to the turn and the state needs to lower the speed limit, she said.
The area of Kalaniana'ole Highway where both fatalities occurred is toward the bottom of a downhill stretch where the four-lane road narrows to two lanes and the speed limit drops from 45 mph to 35 mph, then 25 mph in a relatively short distance.
Despite yesterday's announcement regarding the barrier, Seabury said she will be at the Waimanalo carnival this weekend to collect names on a petition asking for either the barriers or that the road be straightened.
State Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua-Waimanalo-Portlock), said he asked for the barriers shortly after the Seabury accident and applauds the state's quick response. He said he was confident they would protect lives.
"The most important thing is the people in Waimanalo will get protection from future deadly accidents," Hemmings said.
Wilson Ho, Waimanalo Neighborhood Board chairman, said he, too, was pleased with the state's quick response.
"This is the fastest action we've ever seen," said Ho.
Ho said he called Hemmings about using the barriers on the Likelike Highway after hearing about them from Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board member Wendell Lum.
"I said don't worry about aesthetics," said Ho. "Let's save lives first."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
