Boulders crashed down on Kamehameha Highway near Waimea Bay on Oʻahu on Friday. Traffic is down to one lane, possibly for months.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation is working on a permanent rockfall protection system for the ground above the highway. DOT estimates the work to cost $20 million and take three to four months for construction.
The closed lane is for a stretch of about 700 feet. Traffic will be contraflowed in the remaining lane with flaggers on site.
The eight pōhaku that fell on Kamehameha Highway have been relocated to Waimea Valley. A blessing by cultural practitioners is scheduled for Tuesday morning. In Hawaiian culture, pōhaku are regarded as living entities imbued with mana and connected to the spirit of kūpuna and the ʻāina.
In a release, Waimea Valley said it is acknowledging the importance of the fallen pōhaku, "which have been separated from their mountain home, and affirms that they must be handled with dignity, reverence, and care."
The latest rains once again impacted the North Shore, which is still recovering from heavy rains and flash flooding last month. Honolulu City Councilmember Matt Weyer, who represents the area, said early and extensive preparations helped deal with the impact of the latest storm.
" The emergency response team had ample time to set up operations, and so I'm grateful for that," Weyer told HPR on Friday. "That includes both the command post at Wahiawā District Park as well as the command post and, at (Leeward Community College) and of course (Honolulu Police Department) Operations Center. I'm down at the main station with the (Emergency Operations Center) having been stood up before we started feeling the main impacts and having all the equipment and vehicles geared up and ready to go as needed along with the monitoring on the ground.
"You can't prevent, impacts from the weather, right? We're subject to what the weather brings us, but we can be as prepared as possible," he said.
