Question: On Sunday, Oct. 30, we were headed east on the H-1 freeway at night and suddenly found the road coned off from about Tripler hospital to Kinau Street. Why? Only one lane was open. There were no signs. We were bumper to bumper, crawling along. It created road rage, especially since nothing was going on in the coned-off area.
Answer: That incident happened a while ago, but it provides an example of how roadways are closed off.
In this case, the coning was set up earlier than scheduled, which was “why our work crews and the special duty officers were not on scene yet,” said Dan Meisenzahl, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The project to install new highway markers — in preparation for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit — was to begin 9 p.m. Oct. 30 and end at 3 a.m. But the company hired to set up cones began work an hour earlier than scheduled, Meisenzahl said. Transportation officials spoke with the company the next day and was “promised that it would not happen again.”
Among the chief considerations in determining where and when to set up cones is worker safety.
“We have to make sure that vehicles are driving the appropriate speed while traveling past a work site,” Meisenzahl said. “The faster the speed limit, the more cones are put in place to slow vehicles down. This is especially true on freeways and highways.”
If a concrete pour is involved, cars have to be slowed “to an appropriate speed so that the vibrations do not affect the curing process.”
The department follows the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices guidelines. “Depending on the speed limit, there is a required transition zone that can be anywhere from 500 to 1,000 feet” to allow drivers time to react, Meisenzahl said.
The bigger the job, the earlier crews have to set the cones up, he said. Highway or freeway jobs require early setup as well. “Ideally, we try to schedule it so that once the cones are up, we can begin to move our personnel and equipment in and start working.”
When workers install striping or markers, as on Oct. 30, “the paint or adhesives need to cure so we cannot open up as soon as we place them. As a result there are long stretches where it looks like there is no one working.”
Question: Regarding the people who have the city contract to take care of rooster complaints (Kokua Line, Dec. 1). I couldn’t find their number. Can you provide it?
Answer: The number for Royos Farming is 841-2384.
Meanwhile, Inga Gibson, state director of the Humane Society of the United States, points out that it was her organization that lodged the complaint against Royos Farming having the city contract to deal with nuisance roosters.
Because the contractor is also a cock breeder, “It’s like the fox guarding the henhouse,” she said.
However, Dennis Kamimura, administrator of the city Motor Vehicle & Licensing Division, which administers the contract, said, “No evidence has been presented to me that indicate that Royos Farming is not executing the terms of the contract or is involved with illegal cockfighting.”
Gibson suggested people who are not satisfied with the service Royos provides to file a complaint with the city by calling 768-4381 or online at www1.honolulu. gov/csd/publiccom/fixit.htm.
Kamimura said all complaints regarding services provided by his division, not only on noisy chickens, “are investigated and appropriate actions are taken, if justified.”
Mahalo
To Patricia Stilley and a jogger who came to help us after we were in an accident on Kamehameha Highway and Kaahumanu Street, by Burger King, at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16.
—– Bob and Jean
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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.
