Emergency repair work on Pali Highway following February’s rockslides will continue three months longer than originally anticipated, until the end of November, state officials said.
But beginning Aug. 1 the critical roadway will be open to traffic for more hours than currently available.
State Department of Transportation officials had originally estimated that repairs would be completed by the end of August, but on Monday said additional work will keep the highway closed after 7 p.m. until the end of November.
“We’re still going to be shutting down at night,” said Ed Sniffen, HDOT deputy director of highways. “There’s two areas along the slope going Kaneohe- bound that we need to repair to make sure, from a permanent perspective, everyone’s protected using this.”
>> Photos from the Pali Highway construction site
During a media tour of Pali Highway on Monday morning, officials said starting Aug. 1, the highway’s morning contra-flow will be open from 5 to 11:30 a.m., going town-bound, Sunday through Friday. The Kailua-bound lanes will be open from 12:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday.
Starting Sept. 1, Pali Highway will be open in both directions from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday.
By the end of August, the extension at the second tunnel’s entrance going town-bound should be completed, and the highway should be open in both directions in September.
The scenic Pali Highway, or Hawaii Route 61, connects downtown Honolulu to Kailua and Kaneohe, with sweeping views of Windward Oahu and the majestic Koolau Mountains.
In February a torrential downpour resulted in a mudslide after the second tunnel in the Kailua-bound lane, and three people were injured in a rockslide between the two tunnels heading town-bound. The highway has been closed for emergency repairs between Waokanaka Street and Castle Junction.
The cost of the emergency repair work is still estimated at about $20 million, said Sniffen.
The area between the highway’s two tunnels going town-bound is where the state is most concerned about protecting motorists.
A key area of construction is the “rock shed,” a new concrete structure extending the tunnel’s entrance by about 80 feet intended to shield motorists and the roadway from any potential future rockfalls. The state is using a special, carbon-injected concrete mix, called CarbonCure, which is touted as being stronger while reducing carbon dioxide waste.
On the slope above, contractors have finished installing an “attenuator system,” a set of poles supporting a mesh net below Old Pali Highway to protect construction crews from potential rockfalls while they work on the tunnel extension.
However, additional slope work — as well as work on top of the rock shed — will require nighttime closures, and occasional single-lane daytime closures, until the end of November, officials said Monday.
The highway for most of the time has been open only from 5 to 9 a.m. with a Honolulu-bound contra- flow, and then 3 to 7 p.m. Kailua-bound for commuters on weekdays. In June it was opened for limited hours on Sundays.
Following record rainfall June 25, officials said some of the matting used to help with erosion was dislodged along the hillside after the second tunnel going Kailua-bound.
The state has since restabilized the slope, and is moving forward with plans to install Tecco mesh, secured by more than 100 soil nails, to prevent future mudslides. The soil nails will now be longer, according to Sniffen.
In addition, the state has decided to install a 6-foot-tall fence between the two tunnels going Kailua-bound along the top of the tunnels, as well as from the second tunnel to the speed limit sign, for additional protection from rocks and debris.
As a result of the closures, repaving work for Pali Highway, which was planned before the rockfalls occurred, is about six months ahead of schedule, according to Sniffen. On the Kailua-bound side, crews are installing a new curb and gutter on the left side of the roadway as part of repaving.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to protect Pali Highway,” Sniffen said in a news release. “Following completion of the protections we have been able to put in place thanks to (the Federal Highway Administration’s) Emergency Relief program and the emergency funding from the State Legislature, we fully expect that Pali Highway will be more resilient and dependable in severe weather events.”
PALI HIGHWAY ACCESS HOURS
>> Starting Aug. 1, Pali Highway’s morning contra- flow will be open from 5 to 11:30 a.m., town-bound, Sunday through Friday. Pali Highway’s Kailua-bound lanes will be open from 12:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday.
>> Starting Sept. 1, Pali Highway will be open in both directions from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday.
Source: HDOT
