Question: Regarding work on the H-1freeway: By the Waipahu exit and by the Palama Settlement area, it looks like they are putting light poles in the shoulder lane. It scares me to think that they’re doing that, making narrow roads narrower and more dangerous for drivers. What are they doing?
Answer: There are separate projects taking place in the areas you cite, and in some stretches freeway lanes will become narrower.
Currently, the deck on the mauka side of the Pearl City viaduct is being widened to create an additional westbound lane. Work on the deck’s structural elements also is taking place below the freeway surface.
To maintain lighting in the construction zone, which runs from the mauka side of the Pearl City onramp to the Waipahu offramp, the contractor installed temporary light poles, said Caroline Sluyter, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
The temporary poles are where the original light poles, disconnected because of construction, were, she said. They will be replaced with permanent fixtures once the work is completed.
All that is part of the Pearl City and Waimalu Viaduct Improvements and PM Contraflow projects. (See pmcontraflow.com or call 945-1144 for information.)
Temporary light poles also are being installed along the H-1 freeway rehabilitation area, which runs roughly from Likelike Highway to Ward Avenue.
"Similar to the Pearl City viaduct work, these poles were installed to allow for demolition and reconstruction," she said. They also will be replaced with permanent fixtures once construction is completed.
"Safety is always the (DOT’s) foremost consideration," Sluyter said. "In some cases there will be guardrails between the traffic lanes and the light posts; in other cases the light posts will be built into the hillside."
Meanwhile, between Ward Avenue and Middle Street, lanes will be re-striped and narrowed to 10 feet to allow a fourth lane in each direction.
This will continue the re-striping that added an additional lane in each direction between Punahou Street and Ward Avenue in 2012.
According to the DOT, this is a "low-cost solution (that) will improve traffic flow through this busy stretch of the H-1."
For more information, go to h1rehab.com.
Question: I thought broadcasters were told to lower the loud sounds of advertising on television. The sound was reduced for a short time but again has risen to louder than the programs. What happened?
Answer: Under the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, the Federal Communications Commission requires the volume of commercials to be no louder, on average, than the programs they accompany.
The act, which took effect in December 2012, applies to all TV stations, cable operators, satellite TV and other pay TV providers.
On its website — www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/loud-commercials — it says you can file a complaint with the FCC or "submit a complaint to the relevant TV station, pay TV provider, programming network or advertiser to convey your concern."
Filing a complaint with the FCC won’t mean the offending commercial(s) will immediately be lowered in volume. Instead, the FCC will "rely on consumer complaints to monitor industry compliance with the rules" and take enforcement action if necessary.
Complaints can be filed online at www.fcc.gov/complaints, faxed to 866-418-0232 or mailed to Federal Communications Commission, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division, 445 12th St., SW, Washington, DC 20554.
MAHALO
To a kind stranger. I was ready to pay for my things at Longs Kaimuki on March 4 when the cashier said the person in front had already paid my bill. I tried to find her in the parking lot to thank her but was unsuccessful. God bless you! —
N. Sakai, Hawaii Kai
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.
