Drivers try all winding circuits home
Most drivers heading westbound spent hours inching along
Everyone had their horror story, stuck going westbound because of the H-1 freeway closure, but Robert Roberson said he spent a lot of time on the bus.
"That was the longest bus ride in my life," Roberson said.
Roberson caught the bus by the Queen's Medical Center about 6:45 p.m. and got off in Aiea at 9 p.m. He was still trying to get to Pearl City.
He walked toward Kamehameha Highway to see if he could catch a bus to Pearl City.
He said he didn't know what caused the traffic gridlock. "Oh, my goodness, I thought it was just an accident," he said.
Hawaii needs a good rail transit system to avoid problems like this, Roberson said.
Many motorists interviewed at the Kaimakani Street overpass last night had similar tales to tell.
Hoku and Mana Kaawa had been on the road for two hours after dropping someone off at the airport about 7 p.m., but at 9 p.m. they were mired in traffic in Aiea and headed to Waianae.
Edison Ragnat left work at 7 p.m. at Kaneohe Times Super Market and tried to go around the island via the North Shore, but turned around because traffic was bad.
Ragnat got on the H-3 freeway. He wound up in Aiea at 9 p.m. and still had to drive to Ewa Beach.
A motorcyclist said he was on his bike for four hours from Pearl Harbor to Aiea and headed to Mililani.
Diane Torres said she was in traffic for 3 1/2 hours from Honolulu Airport to Aiea, and she had to go to Maili.
Roland and Susan Rezerra had been in their H3 Hummer for three hours navigating the back roads to Aiea. They used up almost half a tank of gasoline. They said it costs $60 to $70 to fill up.
A woman said she left work downtown at 6 p.m. and picked up her husband in Halawa Valley, and they had to go to Waialua from Aiea about 9 p.m.
"I lived on the North Shore all my life. We just adjust," the husband said.
Another woman said she and her husband decided to have dinner downtown and left about 8 p.m. They took the Pali Highway and then the H-3 freeway to get to Aiea.
She said her sister had been on the bus for four hours.