The newly formed Hawaii Highway Users Alliance will host a panel discussion tomorrow on the condition of roads in the state.

Brennon Morioka, deputy director of the state Transportation Department's Highway division, will head the discussion by local industry leaders.

The Hawaii Highway Users Alliance is a group formed to influence public policy and opinion on highway quality, safety, congestion relief and mobility.

Lunch is set for 11 a.m., followed by the discussion at noon at the Honolulu Country Club, 1690 Ala Pu'umalu St. For details, call 479-4426.

HYDROGEN HAPPENINGS

While the buzz around Hawai'i and the Mainland auto industry deals with gas-electric hybrid vehicles, Japanese automakers are moving beyond that to hydrogen.

At the Tokyo Motor Show this week, hydrogen-powered concept vehicles are the star attraction, according to The Associated Press. Six automakers rolled out new versions, signaling the industry's seriousness about the zero-emission alternative to gasoline.

"I think we're beginning to reach a tipping point" that shows hydrogen is quickly gaining acceptance as the eventual replacement for gasoline, said Larry Burns, General Motors' vice president of research and development.

Mazda announced it will begin production of a hydrogen version of its sporty RX-8 within three years, starting in Japan. Instead of more complicated fuel-cell stacks that produce energy through a chemical reaction, Mazda's solution is to burn hydrogen in the car's rotary engine.

Japan has about 15 hydrogen fueling stations, 10 around Tokyo. By the time the car goes on sale, most likely to government and corporate fleets at first, the number of fueling stations is likely to be about 30.

TRAFFIC SIGNALS

In Missouri, cell phones may be the latest way to spot congestion.

In the largest program of its kind to date, officials plan to monitor active cell phones to identity traffic congestion hot spots and then send automated updates to electronic road signs, Web sites, mobile phones and even auto dashboard computers.

The program takes the frequent signals that wireless phones send to towers and follows the movement of phones from one tower to another. Then it overlays that data with highway maps to determine where the phones are and how fast they are moving. Lumping thousands of those signals together can indicate traffic flow.

Similar but smaller programs are already under way in Maryland, Georgia and Virginia.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.