Gas leak prompts police to close down highway

Sept. 7, 2015

KRYSTLE MARCELLUS / KMARCELLUS@STARADVERTISER.COM
Westbound lanes on Kamehameha Highway near Pearl Harbor were closed Sun- day afternoon due to a gas leak. The highway had been closed in both directions earlier in the day.

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A gas leak closed a stretch of Kamehameha Highway near Pearl Harbor on Sunday.

The leak occurred beneath a steel plate in a construction area for the rail project.

Police closed the highway in both directions from Makalapa Gate to Halawa Drive at about 11 a.m.

Honolulu Fire Department Capt. David Jenkins said firefighters received a call at about 10:30 a.m. about a gas smell in the area. A responding fire company discovered the leak under a steel plate over the road near Arizona Street and could hear a hissing sound coming from the gas line, he said.

Jeanne Mariani-Belding, spokeswoman for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, said rail contractor Nan Inc. is relocating utilities in the area, which will be the site of the rail project’s guideway and pillars, but the contractor was not working Sunday.

Mariani-Belding said gas lines are somewhat corroded in the area. Hawaii Gas responded and repaired the line several hours later.

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Police reopened the eastbound lanes at about 2 p.m. and the remaining lanes before 6 p.m.