Heavy rain on Big Island
forces costly road closure
WAIPIO VALLEY OVERLOOK, Hawaii >> For most of the past month, Waipio Naalapa Trail Rides has lost $1,500 a day waiting for repairs to the steep, one-lane road into 2,000-foot-deep Waipio Valley.
Yesterday -- the day repairs to the rain-damaged road were scheduled to begin -- heavy rain caused a landslide, blocking the road for the second time since mid-March.
Hawaii County Public Works chief Bruce McClure said he hoped crews could clear the road by today so workers can start repairs at the bottom.
Heavy rain drenched much of the Big Island yesterday, dropping 10.44 inches in 24 hours at the Hilo airport and 9.19 inches at Honokaa near Waipio.
In Hilo, water flooded Kamehameha Avenue facing Hilo Bay, closing one lane of traffic and causing detours, Civil Defense officials said.
Several other side roads in Hilo, Hamakua and Puna were closed by flooding, and about a dozen homeowners called for sandbags as streams started to flood over drainage channels near their homes, Civil Defense said. No serious damage was reported.
Road closures were to remain in effect through last night, but problems will last longest at Waipio.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning yesterday morning but later downgraded the caution to a flash flood watch. The weather service also said snow was likely to continue overnight on the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
A March 14 landslide and erosion forced the closure of the narrow road into the valley, said Naalapa manager Jennifer Hannum.
The company restarted its twice-daily trail rides on March 24, but four days later they got a letter from the county telling them not to use the road until it is fixed. Also affected were Waipio on Horseback, Waipio Valley Wagon Tours and Waipio Valley Shuttle, a four-wheel-drive tour.
"I've spent the last two weeks getting screamed at," Hannum said, noting that customers held her responsible for cancellation of their valley tours.
Meanwhile, valley residents were permitted to drive up and down the steep road. Tourists also ventured in and out, which was not permitted but also not policed.
McClure said the road is too dangerous to allow commercial access.
Along the stream, the county will have to cut four feet into a cliff base to widen the road away from the stream, he said. If there is no more rain and no more landslides, the work will take two weeks, he said.