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Police praised for
handling crisis
prompted by broken
water main

But the Memorial Day
traffic jam renews calls for
a backup road into
and out of Waianae

Water, traffic running smoothly

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

If there is a silver lining in the latest traffic woes for Leeward Coast residents, it is that police have learned how to better deal with it, said Waianae Neighborhood Board member Patty A. Teruya.

"I gotta commend the police department," Teruya said yesterday.

"From the last time we had that hostage situation, we have learned from this."

"They have done a tremendous job ... in helping and assisting the community to get out there," said Teruya, who spent nearly two hours in traffic Monday afternoon after gushing water from a broken pipe caused a section of Farrington Highway to collapse.

The Memorial Day traffic jam rekindled demands by area residents for an auxiliary or emergency access route into the area. The latest traffic jam comes on top of a hostage situation on Farrington Highway in Nanakuli last January that left thousands of Leeward Coast residents stranded for hours while police negotiated with the suspect.

Yesterday, Gov. Ben Cayetano said the state Department of Transportation is studying several plans for an alternative route to Waianae, including widening the path around Kaena Point to accommodate vehicular traffic.

"One (plan) is to improve the road around Kaena Point, but that will probably run into some environmental concerns," Cayetano said. "There are other options which would cost less but would not provide the kind of immediate relief that I think the place needs."

The governor said cost is the bottom line for any new access road into the Waianae Coast, and the project would have to rely heavily on federal funding. Even then, Cayetano is worried the state's share of the cost for the access road would take money away from other transportation projects.

"We're seriously looking at it. I've asked the Department of Transportation, when the hostage situation arose, to reassess all of the alternatives and come up with a report to me," Cayetano said.

The Waianae Neighborhood Board has taken a strong position against building a road around Kaena Point to connect the Waianae and Waialua communities because it raises strong preservation and environmental concerns, said Teruya, who serves as the board's secretary/treasurer.

Teruya said the board continues to support construction of an emergency access road that cuts across land owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in Waianae. The city has provided $1-million to study the plan.

The Waianae Neighborhood Board is expected to discuss the water main break and the traffic problems at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Waianae Neighborhood Community Center.

Running smoothly Water and traffic were running smoothly again on the Waianae Coast this morning after city crews repaired a 24-inch water-main that broke, disrupting the lives of thousands of residents. Water was fully restored by 11 p.m. last night and all lanes of Farrington Highway were opened at 4 a.m. today, said Denise DeCosta, Honolulu Board of Water Supply spokeswoman. Repairs to the badly corroded 18-foot pipe took longer because of the flooding, she said. Norm-ally, it would take about 24 hours. The pipe burst at 4:15 p.m. on Monday and caused major traffic backups and reduced the area's water supply. DeCosta commended Leeward Oahu residents for using water sparingly last night, which allowed the water not to run out.