Question: What is the best way of knowing when the H-3 freeway tunnel is closed? Is there an app for this information?
Answer: Yes. As of Aug. 6, the city and state government’s GoAkamai website and mobile app were expanded to include the H-3 and two other routes over Oahu’s Koolau Range, promising up-to-the-minute traffic conditions and travel times (the other routes are the Pali and Likelike highways).
Find the information at GoAkamai.org, which also provides links to download the app for use on iOs or Android mobile devices from the App Store or Google Play, respectively.
Or, if you’d rather get traffic, news, weather, sports and entertainment all from one app, you can download the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s mobile app, which incorporates the GoAkamai traffic information among its broader offerings. Find it in the App Store or Google Play.
GoAkamai’s map of the H-3 extends from the Halawa Interchange to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, according to the state Department of Transportation, and will show tunnel closures, whether emergency ones due to car crashes or lane closures scheduled in advance for any reason.
The Likelike Highway congestion map includes the area between the H-1 freeway and Kahekili Highway in Kaneohe, while the coverage area on the Pali Highway extends from the H-1 freeway to Kalanianaole Highway at Castle Medical Center, beyond the Castle Junction intersection.
GoAkamai, which is a joint effort of the state Department of Transportation and the city’s Department of Transportation Services, lists traffic congestion, accidents, construction and other events that affect traffic around the island. The H-1, H-2 and Moanalua freeways were already included before the trans-Koolau update.
Motorists are advised to check GoAkamai before setting out, both to choose the best route ahead of time and because it’s illegal to hold your smartphone while driving.
As for avoiding traffic jams due to scheduled construction, you may also check the DOT’s roadwork report at 808ne.ws/rdwk. It is updated weekly.
Q: Of the Koolau routes, which is the busiest?
A: “The Pali Highway accommodates an average of 54,000 vehicles a day, the H-3 freeway 49,000 vehicles and the Likelike Highway 35,000 vehicles a day,” according to the state DOT.
Q: Regarding the new Medicare cards, can they be laminated?
A: Yes, according to the Medicare spokesman who answered this question for Kokua Line on June 15. See that column for details; 808ne.ws/615KL.
Auwe
Please don’t put your dog in an umbrella type baby stroller to take it walking. I see you at the malls, and your poor dog has his okole and hind legs resting on the seat of the stroller, while his/her front legs are dangling down. The poor animal looks very uncomfortable. There are strollers specifically for animals, but if you find that too costly, please walk your dog on a leash! Baby strollers are meant for babies or toddlers. — A reader
Mahalo
Mahalo to the kind young man who helped pick me up after I fell while walking along the Ala Wai canal early Friday morning. Bless you! — Kathy
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
