The Department of Transportation's Likelike Highway tree-trimming project was put on hold last week as state workers trimmed or cut down 30 trees along a section of the Pali Highway near where two trees fell last month and struck several cars.

The state had originally planned the project for this spring, but set the Likelike project aside when inspectors noticed several trees with hollow trunks between Waokanaka Road and Nu'uanu Pali Drive.

Workers spent last week trimming the trees, which were on both sides of the Pali, "for safety reasons," department spokesman Scott Ishikawa said Thursday. The trees are a collection of ironwoods, albizzias and gunpowder trees with either damaged trunks or branches hanging over the road, he said.

Early on the morning of Jan. 15, four men escaped serious injury when a large tree slammed into their quad-cab Chevrolet pickup as they were taking the Pali home to Waimanalo. Another tree also fell near the Pali tunnels that night, striking two cars.

Two weeks before that, a 30-foot tree fell into the Honolulu-bound lanes of the Pali Highway just before rush hour, sending two people to the hospital and causing a four-hour traffic jam.

The state consulted two private arborists, in addition to a state arborist, and contacted the Outdoor Circle to let them know of last week's tree-trimming, Ishikawa said.

Workers completed trimming along the Pali on Friday and will resume work this week on the Likelike Highway, where they are cutting back or removing about 200 trees, mostly albizzias.

Reach Kim Fassler at fassler@honoluluadvertiser.com.