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Rain-soaked rockslides
get state rolling on fixes


The state will install concrete barriers and remove loose rocks as short-term fixes for areas along Kalanianaole Highway hit with rockslides Monday night.

A state engineer deemed the cliff to be stable where a rockslide occurred near Sea Life Park, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

Heavy rain brought eight boulders, one as large as 3 feet by 2 feet, crashing onto Kalanianaole Highway starting at about 7 p.m. Monday. Two separate rockslides closed sections of the highway for about 3 1/2 hours.

The state will install movable concrete barriers to prevent more rocks from rolling onto the road, Ishikawa said.

Ishikawa said a second project, scheduled for September, will remove loose rock from the Makapuu slope in the area of Monday's rockslide. The project will also stabilize the existing slope near the upper Makapuu lookout.

Transportation officials are looking at various alternatives, including catchment fences, to prevent boulders from falling onto the road.

The Transportation Department completed a $1.5 million project in May at Makapuu, near Monday's rockslide. Workers scaled back 870 cubic yards of rock and placed steel netting on the slope to catch falling rocks. The state expedited safety work there after an Oct. 15, 2002, rockslide.

At the Lanai lookout, where rocks and other debris also washed onto the highway Monday night, the Transportation Department will remove loose rocks from the cliff in the near future to reduce the chance of a larger slide, Ishikawa said.

At Castle Junction, state workers removed mud yesterday that slid down a hillside and collected behind concrete barriers.

Ishikawa said the state is trying to finalize right-of-entry issues with the property's two landowners to gain access to the site before construction can begin on a project to scale back the hillside there.

On Kauai, portions of the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali Coast were washed out by heavy rains, prompting officials to close it Monday night.

"We did find a 10- to 15-foot section of trail washed away by water coming down from the cliff," said Kauai Parks District Superintendent Wayne Souza.

The area of the washout is between the 7- and 8-mile mark, near Pohakoao, between Hanakoa and Kalalau Valley.

Soil had also washed down and partially covered the trail in several small sections, Souza said.

"The streams were really flooding," Souza said yesterday.

Parks Division personnel flew into Kalalau Valley to advise five campers to remain there until trail repairs are completed in the next day or two.

Kalalau Valley is otherwise inaccessible by land, and rough winter seas make it difficult to reach by boat.



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