Question: How long will it take to fix the second runaway truck ramp on Pali Highway, Kailua-bound? Work on the first ramp was done fairly quickly, but work on the second ramp hasn’t been done for weeks. What’s a runaway truck to do in the meantime? (Combination of two questions.)
Answer: Work on the second ramp, which began Aug. 1, is stalled because of a shortage of coarse gravel, used to slow the momentum of a vehicle.
The state Department of Transportation was in the midst of “routine maintenance” of the ramps when it ran out of the gravel, a spokesman said. The supply issue is being resolved, and work is expected to resume and be completed by the end of October, he said.
He explained that over time the loose gravel settles and compacts, creating a hard surface that’s not as effective in slowing vehicles. The same compaction happens to the soil beneath the gravel, caused by the roots of plants and grasses.
The DOT is spending $90,000 for routine excavation, grading and reshaping of three emergency ramps — the two on Pali Highway and one on Likelike Highway, Honolulu-bound, makai of Valley View Drive.
Work on the first ramp, between the Pali tunnels and the hairpin turn, was completed on July 22. Work on the Likelike ramp is scheduled to take place for three to four weeks beginning in late November.
While the second Pali ramp remains closed, the DOT says trucks can still use the first ramp, about three-fourths of a mile before the second one.
Meanwhile, the DOT says its Highway Division has completed a study on the possibility of building a runaway truck ramp on the town side of the Pali tunnels and concluded a new ramp in the Honolulu-bound direction “is not justified,” the spokesman said.
The study examined traffic volume, the number and frequency of accidents involving brake failures over the past decade (two) and the costs for land acquisition and construction.
Question: Why isn’t the city doing anything about the hazardous sidewalk at the makai corner of Vineyard Boulevard and Aala Street? I contacted the city more than eight months ago, and it hasn’t done anything.
Answer: We’re told there is a backlog in fulfilling work orders.
The Department of Planning and Permitting handles complaints about cracked or uplifted sidewalks, or sidewalks obstructed by overgrowth or other obstruction (other than by vehicles, which is handled by the Honolulu Police Department).
After the department inspects and finds a problem, a work order for repairs is sent to the Department of Facility Maintenance.
However, “due to staff shortfalls,” that department is currently backlogged, an official with Planning and Permitting said.
Mahalo
To Special Olympics and its supporters. After dinner with my family at Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai last month, our car wouldn’t start. Fortunately, HPD was having its Cop on Top fundraiser for Special Olympics. Mahalo to officer Zeuzheim, the Special Olympians and their supporters for giving back their support to us and jump-starting our car! The aloha spirit is alive and well in Hawaii Special Olympics!
— Richard T. Ward
Auwe
To HPD for causing a hazardous situation. At about 7:30 a.m. Sept. 18, the two left-most lanes of the H-1 freeway through Kaimuki were coned off for ongoing construction work. Two police officers stopped their vehicles unexpectedly, blocking a third lane and causing high-speed traffic to scramble into the remaining right-most lane. There were several near-accidents, including mine. I am sure that there was a safer way to do whatever they were trying to accomplish.
— Disgusted Motorist
We passed on your concerns to HPD.
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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.