Likelike Highway
filled in for trafficGov. Lingle could issue
a disaster proclamation for
Kalihi Valley residents
Crews finished filling a 20-foot-deep sinkhole on Likelike Highway yesterday, allowing the road to be opened last night in time for Monday morning traffic.
City, state and civil defense officials were also dealing with other effects of a strong winter storm that drenched the island chain late last week, including waste-water spills for a fourth day at a Waimanalo treatment plant.
Also, the search continued yesterday for a missing female Schofield Barracks soldier who was apparently swept out to sea at Waimea Bay just before midnight Friday.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Kenison Tejada said crews searched the area on foot and by air from about 6:40 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Divers were also able enter the search, which will start again this morning for a last day.
The woman was one of six soldiers swept into the ocean by high waves. The other soldiers were able to swim ashore.
High surf on Oahu's North Shore is expected to subside today, but waves on the North Shore should rebuild to 15- to 20-foot heights tomorrow, according to National Weather Service lead forecaster Roy Matsuda.
He said the low-pressure system that caused heavy rains and strong winds since Thursday is gradually receding.
Today, "there will be some showers around, but it will be less and less than what we've had," he said.
The Likelike Highway sinkhole, which is about 15 feet wide, opened up early Saturday in the highway's Honolulu-bound lanes, and workers spent about 17 hours repairing the road.
"We'll be ready for the rush" this morning, said state Department of Transportation Director Rod Haraga. "We made sure that the bottom is stable material. ... We feel the road is adequate and safe."
The lanes were closed between Kaneohe and Kalihi Valley, and traffic was being diverted to the H-3 freeway. Haraga said the hole was caused by a blocked drainage culvert under the highway.
Downstream from the Likelike Highway, on Kalihi Street and Ahuahu Place, residents were still recovering yesterday from a massive landslide Friday night.
Gov. Linda Lingle visited the Kalihi community yesterday morning, offering encouragement and pledging to look for federal funds to assist in the cleanup.
Sixty-three-year-old Kalihi resident Gerald Moura said he was relieved after he spoke to the governor. "I was depressed," Moura said. "Now I feel better."
Moura's 14-foot boat, two vehicles and chain-link fence were among some of the items damaged when water, mud and debris washed over much of his yard and driveway. Moura said he returned home Saturday after being told of the storm while he was in Los Angeles visiting grandchildren.
He has since placed sandbags in various areas on his property should heavy rains return. "We should be helped," said Moura, a 25-year Kalihi resident.
Russell Pang, Lingle's spokesman, said the state might extend the governor's disaster proclamation, which was issued to Mapunapuna businesses flooded during heavy December rains, to Kalihi Valley residents.
Under the proclamation, personal loans of up to $35,000 and business loans of up to $75,000 were made available to affected Mapunapuna business owners through the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
Another Kalihi resident downhill from Moura's home echoed his neighbor's sentiment.
"This is the first time it happened like this," said Lydia Cabang, of Kalihi Street. Her garden, which included orchids and palm trees, was washed away.
"I hope someone will come," Cabang said, "and help us."
The Waimanalo Wastewater Treatment Plant continued to overflow yesterday. The treatment plant has been spilling waste water into Bellows Beach since Thursday, when heavy rains began in the area.
City officials said the partially treated waste water spilled in areas inaccessible to the public, but residents are being warned not to enter waters at the Waimanalo beach.
At Wahiawa Wastewater Treatment Plant, a nine-minute power disruption caused 40,000 gallons of partially treated sewage to discharge into Lake Wilson yesterday.
Warning signs were posted along affected areas of the lake, which will be sampled for contamination today.
Royal Construction completed emergency work on Likelike Highway at about 6 p.m. yesterday, filling the sinkhole with rocks and dirt.
More than two feet of as-phalt was used on the hole, Haraga said, and some of the contractor's employees had been working since the hole was formed. He said he did not have an estimate on how much the repair work cost.
Haraga said the drainage culvert under the freeway was corroded and partially blocked. State crews were working to clear it but did not have the job finished when heavy rains began Thursday.
"The massive amount of water created a surge," he said, adding that a steep gorge adjacent to the highway compounds problems during heavy rains.
Also, the state plans to pump water out of the gorge during heavy rains to relieve stress on the underground culvert, he said.
More work is expected to guard against future sinkholes in the area, including surveying Kaneohe-bound lanes of the highway for similar dangers, Haraga said.