No more over-sized trucks, orange cones, or pieces of asphalt causing door dings or chipped car windows. No more incessant beeping sounds of work vehicles backing up. No more single lane closures or upraised, metal plates covering persistent holes. Happy new year- Pali Highway repairs are (just about) finished!
The planned three-mile, Vineyard to Waokanaka roadwork destruction/construction project has now taken six years (much longer than expected), with innumerous weather delays, underground impediments and unexpected findings, and who knows what else. Some areas (around Country Club Road and Queen Emma Summer Palace) seemed to get repaired, repaved… and then re-done repeatedly.
Mother Nature intervened often, not just with foul weather, but with landslides that created havoc; like in February, 2019, when rain-induced debris necessitated six-months of work to add an extension to and steel anchors above the town-bound, Kailua side tunnel. Travelers went from “poly”-tunnels to mono tunnel.
Two weeks ago, a trees/rocks/mud landslide occurred mere yards past the town-side tunnel exit, completely negating Honolulu-bound traffic for five days. Frankly, it’s a wonder we don’t see more downed trees, rocks, and dirt debris interrupting mountain-carved roadway excursions with frequent rainfall (and erosion) in so many places.
Take a look at trees and other foliage growing at even subtle angles the next time you travel alongside a steep hillside or mountain, and be thankful for deep tree roots (hopefully) and smart engineering plans. It makes you wonder, season after season, about erosion affecting trees, boulders, and/or earth and possible displacement. Also, when heavy rain meets dry, shallow ground, we can see more flash flooding.
The 50,000+ (estimated) vehicles traversing the Pali Highway daily should now be able to travel more uneventfully in the years ahead. Speed bumps have been wisely added in more congested, residential areas between Wyllie and Waokanaka Streets to encourage amped drivers to simply obey existing speed laws.
The obvious upside of substantial winter rain? Much of the state is in some form of a drought condition, so precipitation, while persistent and sometimes ruinous for outdoor planning, provides relief for farmers and crops, and alleviates some concerns for potential fire zones. We cannot enjoy a cherished, lush, tropical Hawai`i without a certain regularity of precipitation.
And Windward drivers can celebrate January, 2024; the end of a patience-testing era as the final markings are affixed and stronger asphalt composition ensures more pleasant years of Pali travel ahead.
Think about it…