Since the opening of H-3, old Kaneohe Bay Drive has turned into a major highway for Ameron cement trucks and other 18-wheeler trucks. It is annoying to hear them from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m. continuously. It's also very dangerous for Aikahi Elementary kids on their way to school. Why are they using this road when there is another entrance to the H-3 at the top of Mokapu Saddle Road? Also, isn't the Bay Drive limited to trucks under seven tons? Big trucks are on a job
at Marine Corps baseThere is some validity to your complaint, i.e., the early start time and number of trucks, but there are also some misconceptions, said George West, manager of quarry and concrete operations for Ameron Hawaii. He hopes when you hear what the company is doing to minimize the impact that you will bear with the flow of trucks for a few more months.
The trucks in question are going to and from a major project on the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base -- not to the H-3. While there is a seven-ton limit on Kaneohe Bay Drive, it is for a section where the trucks don't go, West said.
Before the project started, Ameron discussed possible routes with the contractor and Kaneohe police. It was decided that the selected route (from Mokapu turning left onto Kaneohe Bay Drive), "properly controlled, was a suitable access to the project," West said. The Marines were asked if the trucks could go through the closed base gate at Mokapu, but that idea was nixed, he said.
Cement deliveries to the base start very early so that most of the work is completed before people go to work or school, West said. "Sometimes we will go until 9 a.m.," he said.
Noise and speed are monitored diligently, West said, sometimes by himself. "Drivers understand it's early, don't rev engines and, especially when school starts, to go only 30 mph, exactly what the speed limit is," he said. "So, yes, there is lot of truck traffic, but we have no other way to get to the job site safely."
Kaneohe police Lt. John Lum confirmed that Ameron has worked with police to minimize problems and said there had been no complaints to his station.
The last early morning pour was on March 12. There will be a break until late May. The major work is expected to be completed by the end of June, West said. Work on a smaller scale will continue, but during the regular work day.
"We encourage people, if they see vehicles not being operated appropriately, to give us a call (832-9294) with the number of the truck and we will follow up."
Meanwhile, all Ameron vehicles and hired trucks headed for town are directed to use the entrance to H-3 you cited, West said.
That's even though it is dangerous for drivers to make a left turn from Mokapu to get to the H-3 because approaching drivers invariably are speeding and there is limited sight distance, West said.
But Ameron is working with the state to get a traffic light installed there by this summer, he said.
To Mr. Moses for his good service and friendliness in delivering mail to us at the Ilikai, and to the city bus service for our inexpensive bus pass. But auwe to Foster Gardens for charging $5 for tourists and $3 for locals. We live here half the year and it is not fair that we are considered tourists. Mahalo
To Mark and Sandy Moncrease of Ewa Beach. We are visiting our daughter and her family in Kaneohe. My husband mistakenly put my purse under the driver's seat in the Moncreases' van, which was almost identical to ours and parked side-by-side at Kmart. After they found my purse, they called Michigan through information they found in my purse, before locating us in Kaneohe. They showed us there is much aloha in Hawaii. -- Margaret and Will Nordbeck Mahalo
