Hawai'i briefs

Advertiser Staff

Moanalua lanes to be closed

All eastbound lanes of Moanalua Freeway will be closed to traffic at night for seven hours, beginning tomorrow, for road resurfacing, the state Department of Transportation said.

The freeway will be closed from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. for five nights.

Eastbound motorists wishing to enter H-3 Freeway in Halawa are advised to take Pu'uloa Road to the westbound lanes of Moanalua Road and follow it to the H-3 on-ramp.

Various sections of Moanalua Freeway will be open, depending on the day. For a more detailed description of each day's work, visit www.state.hi.us/dot/publicaffairs/pressrelease/2004/04-312.htm

Kahala gas leak causes evacuation

A gas leak at a Kahala construction site yesterday led to the evacuation of about a dozen people at a small shopping mall on Wai'alae Avenue near Kilauea Avenue at 9:20 a.m.

"They just evacuated the mall as a precaution," said Capt. Kenison Tejada, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department.

No one was hurt.

The Gas Co. officials said the leak was contained by 10:45 a.m.

The mall has about five stores, including Pets Discount Warehouse and a small grocery store, Tejada said.

Tejada said the leak may have begun when a machine at a construction site hit the 2-inch line, which is 2 feet underground.

3 ships arriving at Pearl Harbor

Two Navy minesweepers and a Canadian counterpart are scheduled to arrive at Pearl Harbor today.

The USS Avenger and USS Defender, both based in Ingleside, Texas, and deployed to the Pacific, will arrive along with the HMCS Brandon of the Royal Canadian Navy.

The ships' primary mission is to find and destroy moored and bottom mines. The U.S. Navy has 14 Avenger-class mine-countermeasure ships, each with a crew of about 90 officers and sailors.