County, Critical Services Available to North Shore After Emergency Lane Cleared on Kūhiō Highway

Refuse trucks, post office trucks, and other critical service providers drove through the emergency access lane on Kūhiō Highway at mile marker 1 throughout the day Tuesday, March 16.

On March 9 and 11, a landslide covered the roadway by Hanalei Hill cutting off access to the North Shore communities. The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) was able to clear 15,000 cubic yards of debris to open an emergency access lane on March 15. Access is currently limited to emergency and essential vehicles as authorized by the County.

Rain showers affected the site throughout the day on Tuesday. Construction activities and the emergency access was coordinated to avoid activities on the upper slope during emergency and essential vehicle movements.

On March 16, crews began installation of a barrier fence on top of the mauka barriers. These installations are expected to be completed Wednesday, March 17.

Crews continued to scale rock and remove loose materials as well as trees whose root systems were compromised by soil saturation. Preparations began for initial soil nail installation to stabilize the slope.

Additionally, crews performed coordinated effort to protect underground utilities. Monitoring the slope continues with KIUC powering the site.

Additional work scheduled includes ground survey to set benchmarks. System is expected to be fully operational Wednesday, March 17.

Information on the plan to provide public access after the emergency access period will be announced soon. HDOT needs to restrict access during construction hours for safety and to ensure efficient single lane alternating movement through the area.

Monitoring of the road above the Hanalei Hills landslide, Kūhiō Highway between Kolopua Apartments and Hanalei Plantation Road, will continue and HDOT will maintain this closure until an automated GPS monitoring is installed.