Single lane now open on Kamehameha Highway at Waimea Bay

Area to Remain Contraflowed as HDOT Installs Rockfall Netting Over Slope

HONOLULU - The Hawai'i Department of Transportation (HDOT) has opened a single lane on Kamehameha Highway at Waimea Bay, following the earlier full closure due to fallen boulders, Friday, April 10.

HDOT will keep the road beneath the slope where the fallen boulders originated closed, as work to install a permanent rockfall protection system is conducted. The single-lane closure will involve a 750-foot-long section of roadway. Traffic in both directions will be maintained by alternating vehicles (contraflow) in the remaining lane with flaggers. There may also be intermittent holds of all traffic for additional rock scaling as the protection system is installed.

Overnight rock scaling work deliberately loosened additional boulders and sent them tumbling from the slope to the highway, with some coming to rest atop steel plates laid by HDOT to protect the water main serving the North Shore community.

The current estimate for the permanent rockfall protection system is $20 million, with a duration of three to four months for construction. HDOT is coordinating with the State Historic Preservation Division to ensure cultural resources in the construction area are protected.

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