Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Transformer trouble
plagues Pali lightingQuestion: Why are the Pali Highway lights on the Kailua side of the tunnels out and for so long?
Answer: It's a problem again with a transformer -- but not the same one that caused the Pali blackout in 2000.
At that time the state had to order a new transformer from California, which took months to arrive.
The same 41 lights have been on the blink for several weeks. As of yesterday, state Department of Transportation officials weren't sure when they would be up and running again.
This time, the problem is with a transformer that lights up the tunnels, "and unfortunately it is linked up to the one that we had previously replaced," according to Martin Okabe of the DOT's State Highways Oahu District Office.
The DOT has been talking with Hawaiian Electric Co. about putting one of its transformers up, with the state then connecting to that transformer.
"We're still talking" with the DOT, HECO spokesman Fred Kobashikawa confirmed yesterday. Still to be agreed upon are technical and jurisdictional issues, he said.
If and when such a connection happens, "it will be the best of all scenarios," Okabe said, because HECO can more readily get parts or replacement transformers.
It's been difficult to get replacement transformers from the mainland, he noted, because of the long lead time required, difficulty in finding them, decay of stored transformers, etc.
Q: The old Territorial Office Building at Punchbowl and King streets has been a mess for more than a year. The front is all boarded up, the building looks closed and I never see workmen there. Can you find out what they're doing and why it is taking so long?
A: The building, officially called the Kekuanaoa Building, may look closed, but it's business as usual inside, including for people looking to get or renew their state ID cards.
The current exterior work is to repair the facade of the columns at the building's main entry, according to Harold Sonomura, public works administrator for the state Department of Accounting & General Services.
Work began Jan. 7 and was supposed to have been completed June 29. However, the expected completion date now is in September because during demolition it was determined that the columns needed additional structural repairs before the decorative facade could be applied, Sonomura said.
The project required additional design plans and funding. About $17,000 has been added to the original $278,000 cost of the project, which is separate from interior renovations and the accessibility improvements to accommodate the disabled, Sonomura said.
Mahalo
To Oahu Transit Services for their prompt action when I reported a bus sign pole had been knocked down at 960 Prospect St. They replaced it the same day I called it in (after a week of no action), and now people know where to wait and drivers know where to stop. -- Grateful Bus Rider
Useful phone numbers
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com