Pali to open both directions for most of day

Windward residents are looking forward to accessing Pali Highway in both directions to ease the stress of putting in extra miles to get to town and back on alternative routes.

The highly anticipated opening of the highway both ways begins at 1 p.m. Sunday, marking a milestone following months of closures for repairs.

In following days, including the Labor Day holiday on Monday, both directions of Pali Highway will be open from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday. It will remain closed Saturdays, until repairs are complete, and the highway fully reopens in November.

Kailua resident Joanne McCoy was overjoyed at the news.

The limited access to Pali Highway since mid-February has meant driving in big circles and lots of extra mileage for the mother of four, who has a toddler, two attending school in Kailua and one attending school in town.

Then there are ballet lessons in town, and other school activities that require her and her husband to take those alternative routes for varying directions throughout the week, and on Saturdays, when Pali Highway is closed. She is looking forward to the highway reopening on Saturdays.

”We really need it to be open on Saturdays,” she said. “We’re very optimistic. It will help us out a lot just in giving us stress and anxiety relief.”

Access to Pali Highway, or Route 61, is a main connection between Oahu’s Windward side and downtown Honolulu.

On Feb. 18 a torrential downpour resulted in a mudslide after the second tunnel in the Kailua-bound direction, and a rockslide between the two tunnels heading town-bound, injuring three. The damage resulted in the closure of Pali Highway between Waoka­naka Street and Castle Junction for emergency repairs.

The work, estimated at $21 million, includes slope stabilization measures as well as the new concrete structure, or “rock shed,” that extends the second Honolulu-bound tunnel’s entrance by about 80 feet to shield motorists from future rockfalls.

For months, access to the highway had been limited to 5 to 9 a.m. going town-bound via contra-flow lanes on weekdays, and then the Kailua-bound direction from 3 to 7 p.m.

The highway eventually opened on Sundays in June. Access hours were also increased this month to include later morning hours and earlier afternoon hours.

But there was a three-month delay in opening the highway, originally anticipated to happen this month. Due to record rainfall in late June, the state decided to add more slope protections and install fencing on the highway’s Kailua-bound side.

As a result of the closures, the state said previously scheduled paving using a more durable Stone Matrix asphalt, along with infrastructure improvements on the highway, are also ahead of schedule.

On Sunday the highway will open in the afternoon rather than in the morning because crews need additional time to finish lighting improvements for the “rock shed.”

The morning contra-flow, however, will be available to Honolulu-bound drivers from 5 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

Sierra Harmann-Geiger, a retail associate at the Fighting Eel boutique, has been waiting for the highway to reopen.

The Makiki resident works in Kailua town, so she needs access to Pali Highway in the opposite direction. She has spent extra time and gas taking Likelike Highway for practically half a year.

“That’s going to be so much more convenient and quicker,” she said.

Unfortunately, there are still limits, such as Saturdays, when the highway will remain closed.

For Tiare Nakayama, owner of No Ka Oi Cookie Co., the highways’ closure after 7 p.m. will not be much help. She drives from town to the Kailua Farmers’ Market held on Thursday evenings, but the market closes at 7:30 p.m. So that still means having to take an alternative route back to town.

Pali Highway is expected to fully reopen in early November, when it will once again be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“A catastrophic event caused tons of debris to fall from the mountain onto the Pali Highway,” said Gov. David Ige in a news release. “Crews have been working around the clock to get the work completed and deliver more access to the public as quickly and safely as possible in order for daily routines to return to normal.”

THIS SUNDAY’S HOURS

>> Pali Highway contra-flow going town-bound will be open from 5 to 11:30 a.m.

>> Pali Highway will be open both ways from 1 to 7 p.m.

NEW ACCESS HOURS FOR PALI HIGHWAY

>> 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday (including Labor Day)