Q. I noticed a utility pole splintered by a car in 'Aiea near Dixie Grill that still looks really bad months after the accident. It was so badly damaged that I'm afraid it might fall into the street. I called Hawaiian Electric Co. but someone who answered the phone said I needed to have the pole number to get it repaired. What can be done?

A. Hawaiian Electric spokesman Jose Dizon said the company has been working for months on what to do with this pole. It has been identified, braced and a replacement pole put in. Dizon said the accident occurred in October and that the pole was braced in January.

He said electric company inspectors checked the pole shortly after the accident and determined that it did not pose a danger. He said they marked the splintered pole, installed a new pole behind the guardrail to protect it from future accidents and transferred the electrical wires from the old pole to the new one.

Dizon said the pole is jointly owned by HECO, Hawaiian Telephone Co. and the state. He said inspectors have contacted all of them and found they plan to move their wires and cables off the damaged pole. The state moved the streetlight onto the new pole on April 13, Dizon said. He said HECO crews clipped off part of the pole in April while they waited for the other utilities to move their wires. Hawaiian Telephone Co. has moved its wires, he said, "so we're just waiting for the state to move the traffic control cable."

Dizon said that HECO will remove the rest of the damaged pole when all users have transferred their lines.

Dizon said people should call the HECO trouble line at 548-7961 for problems with a pole or to address other electric company issues. He also said HECO inspectors suggest that citizens tie a ribbon around a damaged pole to guide repair crews to the right one.

WAOKANAKA UPDATE

State transportation crews last week fixed the lane stripes with a solid line on Pali Highway near Waokanaka Street in response to a Buster question from a reader. A spokesman said the contractor had painted in the stripes the way they used to be, instead of according to the updated specifications.

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