For first time in months, Pali Highway opens in both directions

Windward Oahu residents welcomed the Sunday 1 p.m. opening of Pali Highway in both directions for the first time since a February rockslide closed the popular road.

The Pali is now open in both directions from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays through Fridays. The highway will remain closed on Saturdays through early November to allow further repairs to be completed.

Access to the Pali, a major route connecting Windward Oahu to town, has been limited to Honolulu- bound motorists in the mornings and, subsequently, Kailua-bound drivers in the afternoons, since the February rockfall required an estimated $21 million in emergency repairs.

The work includes slope stabilization 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.

Access hours to the highway have gradually increased as repairs were completed, but there has been a three-month delay in fully opening the highway, originally anticipated to happen in August. Additional slope work — as well as work on top of the rock shed — will require nighttime closures until November.