The state Department of Transportation announced Thursday it is on track to open a one-lane emergency access route to Wainiha and Haena by Saturday.
The one-lane route on Kuhio Highway would be exclusively for emergency responders and disaster recovery operations, officials said, and would include a 5,000-pound weight restriction, which excludes just about anything larger than a midsize truck or SUV.
Kuhio Highway from Waikoko to Wainiha has been closed since the April 14 rainstorm and flood triggered more than a dozen landslides along the north shore lifeline.
With seven construction crews clearing debris, stabilizing the road base and assessing slope faces exposed by landslides, the department is aiming to open the single lane to community traffic on or before May 7, DOT spokeswoman Shelly Kunishige said Thursday.
But there will be speed and weight restrictions on community traffic, Kunishige said, and it will likely be slow going for motorists taking turns with alternating traffic flow.
Also on Kuhio Highway, state Transportation officials plan to install temporary bridges adjacent to the Waioli, Waipa and Waikoko bridges. This would allow for the transport of material needed to repair areas of the highway affected by landslides.
Installation of the temporary bridges had been in the works before the April flood, to help with previously scheduled work on the Wainiha bridges. The temporary bridges, which will boost weight restrictions to 25 from 8 tons, are expected to arrive on the island in two to three weeks, Kunishige said, and installing them will likely take an additional two to three weeks.
In other storm-related developments:
>> Gov. David Ige announced the availability of low-interest loans to storm-damaged farms on Kauai and in Waimanalo. Loan repayment schedules will be deferred by the state Department of Agriculture until the farmers are back in production and earning sufficient revenue.
>> The state Department of Health said Tunnels, Kee, Haena and Mahaulepu beaches on Kauai have joined the list of coastal areas removed from the island’s brown-water advisory.
>> The Kauai County Department of Water restored water services to customers along the makai end of Weke Road near Black Pot Beach in Hanalei. A temporary connection was installed until a permanent replacement of the damaged mainline can be completed.
>> The Kauai County Department of Public Works began a limited bulky-item pickup Thursday for the Wainiha-Haena area. Workers are collecting items such as furniture, mattresses and rolled-up carpets, but appliances and metals will have to wait for a later date. A regular schedule for bulky-item collection has not yet been set.
>> Community meetings on emergency relief efforts on Kauai will be held next week from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Koloa Neighborhood Center, Wednesday at Anahola Clubhouse in Kilauea and Thursday at Hale Halawai ‘Ohana o Hanalei in
Hanalei.
