City, state
to join forces
on potholes

Officials try to address residents'
frustrations in East Honolulu

State and city transportation departments are teaming up to fill in the pothole problem, government officials said at an East Honolulu meeting Monday night.

Residents won't have to determine whether the pothole is on a city or state street before making a call, because there will be one phone number for all potholes on Oahu, state Transportation Director Rod Haraga said.

"There's some legal implications, but I think we can do it," he said.

Pothole inquiries were just some of the transportation questions East Honolulu residents asked at Monday night's meeting at Kalani High School.

George "Keoki" Miyamoto, deputy director of the city Department of Facility Maintenance, said that in the interim, if the city receives a pothole call for a state highway, the call will be referred to the state, and vice versa.

Haraga said the state will go beyond pothole patching, which lasts about three months. The state has identified 20 sites that need repaving, and plans to repave Nimitz, Kamehameha and Pali highways.

Sid Snyder of Waialae Iki asked why the government doesn't quit spending money on temporary pothole patches instead of doing it right.

Snyder said he's seen it done in other states, and criticized the use of improper methods -- not properly preparing the holes by cleaning them out so the patch will bond to the asphalt.

Haraga said products that do work cost a lot -- $27 a gallon for one type.

"Why have the potholes been allowed to get so bad?" asked another audience member.

Haraga replied: "We haven't paid attention to our highways."

He said the state will use new types of material for resurfacing.

Miyamoto said: "Right now the present mayor is concentrating on resurfacing of all of the roadways ... coming back to the basics."

The city administration has a proposed $30 million for the task in the upcoming budget.

Haraga, a Lingle appointee, and Republican legislators criticized the Legislature for raiding the state highway fund, and cited that as a reason for not having enough to fix potholes and the like.

Audience members also asked whether anything was being planned to deal with the traffic congestion anticipated from Costco's proposed 17-pump gas station on Keahole Street in Hawaii Kai.

Miyamoto said he believes the project is being reviewed by the city Department of Planning and Permitting, and has not yet been approved.