Potholes keep drivers
vigilant and crews busy
A caller and police reported a pothole about a foot long and a foot deep on a makai-bound lane of Pali Highway near Vineyard Boulevard. Another resident called the state Saturday afternoon after his tire was damaged from a pothole on Kamehameha Highway near the Makalapa Gate.
Those were among the numerous callers over the weekend to the state and city pothole hot lines in the wake of heavy rains last week.
"We got holes all over the place," said Papakolea resident Lora Contreras, noting she has remained cautious while driving over potholes.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Recent rains have left potholes throughout Oahu. Here, drivers did the best they could yesterday to avoid potholes along Puuloa Road in Mapunapuna.
Between 15 and 20 motorists headed to Lex Brodie Tire Co. in Honolulu on Friday and Saturday after their tires or rims were damaged by potholes, according to salesman Cooper Masani.
More than 370 calls were made to the city and state to repair pits in the roadways throughout Oahu.
"We're going to do as much as we can," said Larry Leopardi, director of the city Department of Facility Maintenance.
City and state crew members worked overtime during the weekend to repair potholes throughout the island. Leopardi said they had doubled the amount of crew members over the weekend to fill in potholes caused by the heavy rain last week.
"It will be an ongoing effort for us to address the potholes and try to get them filled," Leopardi said, adding that more potholes are expected to form because the ground is still saturated.
A total of 271 calls were made to the city's pothole hot line between Friday and noon yesterday, and about 100 were made to the state. Most calls were about potholes in the downtown area, which has a high volume of traffic, Leopardi said.
Repairs were made in the downtown area and major thoroughfares that include Kapiolani Boulevard, Beretania Street and Keeaumoku Street. Three city crew teams, each made up of three city workers, filled in potholes in the Honolulu district Sunday while two crew teams worked in Pearl City.
Two crews continued to fill potholes in Honolulu yesterday while rural base-yard crew members were expected to tend to potholes in their area.
While potholes are being filled, workers are also responding to damaged signs, clogged storm drains and debris in streams.
"The public should understand that all these activities have to be done," Leopardi said. "We can't just do one at the expense of the other."
Calls made to the city's line for potholes on state roads were referred to the state, and vice versa.
Potholes are created when roads become saturated with water and the moisture gets underneath the surface, causing the asphalt to break up. The material breaks up even further as vehicles drive over the surface, said Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The state received an estimated 100 calls over the weekend through their pothole hot line, highway district office and H-3 tunnel operators, Ishikawa said.
"Our pothole answering machine was basically filled by Sunday afternoon," he said.
About 20 sizable potholes were filled by state crew members Sunday, while smaller potholes are expected to be filled throughout the week, Ishikawa said. Some of the larger potholes were on Farrington Highway near Kapolei, Pali Highway and the H-1 freeway from Pearl City to Hawaii Kai.
Those who want to report a pothole can call the city's pothole hot line at 527-6006 or the state's Pothole Puka Patrol at 536-PUKA (7852).
