A circle island drive on Oahu came to a stop today, when land slides closed Kamehameha Highway on the North Shore at Waimea.
Rockslides in the year 2000 resulted in rebuilding the original stretch of Kamehameha Highway on Oahu’s pictures North Shore. It made circle island trips impossible until authorities built a temporary road on top of the sandy beaches of famous Waimea Bay.
23 years later, the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) announced an emergency closure of the same rebuilt road due to dangerous rock slides.
Thousands of visitors every day make the around-the-island trip in rental cars, on tour busses, or on the public bus system. This was interrupted today when cars had to turn around before getting to Waimea Bay or before getting to Sharks Cove on the other side of this North Shore beach stretch.
Kam Highway closed at 7.23 am Sunday morning and remains closed as of 12 p.m.
The initial assessment is that rock scaling needs to be done to remove loose material from the slope. The rocks that came down this morning will be removed, and impact barriers will be installed to provide protection for this section.
Debris removal and rock scaling are expected to continue throughout the daylight hours.
During the work, pedestrian, and bicycle access will be paused for safety. Currently, bicyclists and pedestrians are being allowed through the closure area but should not stop near the slope.
TheBus is operating with delays to and from the Waimea Bay area. Per the City and County of Honolulu, regular Route 60 service to and from Honolulu via Kaneohe is turning around at Shark’s Cove. Passengers must walk to transfer to and from the Route 60 shuttle operating from Waimea Bay to continue trips to and from Haleiwa.
At 6.00 pm Sunday, the Department of Transportation said, the highway will be reopened.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) reports that the drone assessment of Kamehameha Highway near Waimea Bay has been completed and the route will be reopened Sunday evening. HDOT will provide a final update for today once the road is confirmed to be open.
Rock scaling at the site of the rockfall that prompted the closure of the highway at 7:23 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, has been completed. The rock scaling contractor is now working their way towards Waimea Bay Beach Park.
The fallen rocks at the site are being removed and barriers will be placed to provide temporary protection as HDOT works to extend the rockfall fencing towards the bay. An update on the schedule for the mitigation will be provided as soon as it is confirmed.
Intermittent closures on Monday, Feb. 6, will be needed to complete the rock scaling. The traffic holds will be scheduled outside of peak travel times (e.g., 5-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m.) and should not be longer than 30 min. at a time.
A clip of the drone footage showing the rockface where the large boulder came from and other rock shelves can be found at https://youtu.be/9GH0zZUcUoQ
