Kalihi clogged

A trucker turning onto Nimitz Highway flips his rig and tangles traffic

Motorists fumed yesterday as Ewa-bound traffic on Nimitz Highway came to a standstill for roughly five hours, clogging Kalihi surface streets with vehicles trying to make their way west.

A tractor-trailer exiting Sand Island Access Road flipped over while making a left turn onto Nimitz at 11:08 a.m. yesterday and took out a traffic light post. The driver was not seriously injured.

Police initially shut down two makai-bound lanes on Sand Island Access Road and two Ewa-bound lanes on Nimitz.

Just before 1 p.m., all Ewa-bound lanes on Nimitz were shut at Sand Island Access Road to allow for city crews to repair the traffic signals and pole, and traffic exiting Sand Island Access Road was allowed to go only in the Diamond Head direction. Nimitz traffic going Ewa was diverted to Puuhale Road, just before Sand Island Access Road.

At 3 p.m., Vicky Giusti was trying to rush to the airport from Waikiki to make a flight home to Kona with her family, but instead was trapped in traffic on Nimitz just before Waiakamilo Road.

"I just wish they let us know 45 minutes ago," Giusti said before getting off Nimitz on Waiakamilo. "They should have had cops along the way (informing motorists)."

State Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said two portable signs warning of the closure had been posted along Nimitz, but Giusti and several others did not see them. Radio announcements also were made, he said.

Like sheep to the slaughter, some motorists headed straight into the thick of things.

"I was on Dillingham and it was slow, so I thought I'd come here (Nimitz)," said Mindy Ho, who was driving to Waipahu in a sedan with no air conditioning. "I guess I better go back."

The highway was reopened at 3:25 p.m. before rush hour traffic, and traffic flowed smoothly on Nimitz by 4 p.m., Ishikawa said.

Before the highway could be reopened, city crews had to remove a damaged metal overhanging arm for traffic lights that extended over lanes on Nimitz. But first they had to wait for removal of the truck, which was lodged against the traffic light.

The city put up a temporary traffic signal until replacement parts for the permanent fixture are shipped, Ishikawa said.

The 52-year-old driver was taken in stable condition to the Queen's Medical Center, where he was treated and released, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city Department of Emergency Services.