Starting today, the state’s popular — and free — Freeway Service Patrol will expand its coverage of the H-1 freeway three miles eastward to Ainakoa Avenue in Waialae, the Department of Transportation announced Sunday.
Freeway Service Patrol trucks will also be equipped with new specialized bumpers to push stalled vehicles off the roadway faster.
"The Freeway Service Patrol is a tremendous aid to make our freeways safer by quickly removing stalled or disabled vehicles," DOT Director Glenn Okimoto said Sunday in a news release.
Freeway Service Patrol routes cover approximately 29 miles of freeway in both directions, from the H-1 freeway Kunia Interchange (Kunia Road) and the H-2 freeway Waipio Interchange (Ka Uka Boulevard) — including the entire H-201 Moanalua Freeway and H-1 Airport Viaduct — to the H-1 terminus at Ainakoa Avenue in Waialae.
The route previously ended at University Avenue in Manoa.
From the time it launched in June 2009 until May 2013, DOT said, the Freeway Service Patrol has conducted more than 36,000 traffic assists. Almost 1 in 4 (23 percent) were due to flat tires; another 24 percent were for unclassified assists such as repairing a fender or taping up a leaky hose; 12 percent of assisted cars ran out of gas; and 10 percent were involved in an accident. Other reasons for assistance included overheating, dead batteries and loads needing adjustment. Some vehicles were abandoned.
Twenty-three percent of assists required the vehicle to be towed to a location off the freeway.
The Freeway Service Program costs about $3 million each year and is approximately 90 percent federally funded, with the remaining 10 percent covered by the state.
Every dollar spent on the program in its first two years resulted in almost $8 of savings, according to a study conducted by DOT engineers. Reduction in delays (measured as vehicle-hours), savings in fuel and decreases in emissions are all counted as benefits.
The new Push Bumpers, as they’re being called, are mounted on the Freeway Service Patrol trucks and designed to push vehicles from behind for limited distances without damage to either vehicle. DOT said the bumpers will help reduce safety hazards and the potential for secondary collisions.
The Freeway Service Patrol operates weekdays from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., except holidays. Assistance is provided free of charge to the public and can be obtained by calling 841-HELP (4357).
