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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 7:51 a.m., Thursday, November 2, 2006

Pali commute smooth, but Hawaii Kai sees more traffic

By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer

The morning drive into Honolulu on the Pali Highway is continuing to go well, despite a section of the highway being contra-flowed, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

As of 7:30 a.m., there had been no reports of accidents or other problems on the highway, which is being used for Honolulu-bound traffic this morning as a result of yesterday's landslide near the Pali tunnels.

The Pali's problems may have led to heavier than usual traffic in other areas. A driver heading in from Hawaii Kai said traffic appears to be busier than normal possibly because a number of Kailua residents were driving in on the Kalanianaole Highway.

As for the Pali, contrary to earlier reports, Iswhikawa said road crews are continuing to remove rocks, mud and other debris from the town-bound lanes. He could not estimate how soon the highway may be fully reopened in both directions.

Current plans call for the highway to be used for Honolulu-bound traffic only until noon, at which time workers will reconfigure it to allow for Kailua-bound traffic only.

"Right now, traffic on the Pali is pretty light," Ishikawa said. "I

think a lot of people took the advice we were giving out last night and used Likelike (Highway) or the H-3 (Freeway) to get to work today."

Drivers headed into town on the Pali from Kailua travel up the regular town-bound lanes to a crossover near St. Stephen's seminary and then travel through the tunnels in the two lanes normally used for Kailua-bound traffic.

Another crossover on the Honolulu side of the tunnels directs drivers back into the normal town-bound lanes.

While the highway is in the Honolulu-only mode, drivers can head up the Pali toward Kailua but can go no further than Waokanaka Street where they are turned around, Ishikawa said. An electronic sigh board much farther down the highway alerts Kailua-bound drivers of morning, town-bound only contra-flow.

Once the highway is reconfigured some time after noon today, both Kailua-bound lanes will be used exclusively for traffic bound for Kailua.

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.