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The Honolulu District Court is functioning although its four elevators still are not.
Otis Elevator is working 24 hours a day on a malfunctioning elevator problem at the courthouse, but an investigation into the cause has been inconclusive, Judiciary spokesman Mark Santoki said Tuesday.
Elevators malfunctioned for the second time in less than a week on Monday, leading to a long line of people waiting to get into the Alakea Steet building. The backup in the lobby wasn’t cleared until 10 a.m.
Only one of the building’s four elevators was operational Tuesday, but the the lobby cleared by 7:45 a.m. because people were being let in more quickly than on Monday.
The elevators went into service in 1982 when the 11-story building was occupied. An “elevator modernization project” has been under way since February 2011, nearly two years ago.
So far only one elevator has been replaced.
Santoki said project delays stem from a shortage of state inspectors, and work at the courthouse being pushed back.
“We’re expediting that process,” he said.
Escalators are available up to the 4th floor but courtrooms are on upper floors and only accessible by elevator.
