Crews work to bring down loose material after rockfall near Waimea Bay

HONOLULU (KHON2) — According to Honolulu Police, Kamehameha Highway fronting Waimea Bay Beach is closed in both directions due to falling rocks.

According to the Hawaii Department of Transportation, the rocks have been cleared from the road but await an assessment of the slope the rocks fell from.

The rockfall occurred on Sunday, Feb. 5 around 7:23 a.m.

HDOT said they are deploying drones and a contractor to conduct a survey, but the road will remain closed for the rest of Sunday as crews remove debris and scale rocks.

The drones will determine if there are any loose materials that should be removed.

Pedestrians and bicyclists are allowed through the closure area, but HDOT is asking those passing by not to stop at the slope.

TheBus is operating with delays to and from Waimea; and according to the City and County of Honolulu, Route 60 [to and from Honolulu via Kaneohe] is turning around at Sharks Cove.

Those taking the bus need to walk to transfer to and from the route 60 shuttle operating from Waimea Bay to continue trips to and from Haleiwa.

HDOT said that Kamehameha Highway’s drone assessment near Waimea Bay is complete.

While the route will reopen Sunday evening, HDOT said they would provide a confirmation in a final update once it is established that the road is reopened.

HDOT also said the contractor that was brought in to perform the rock scaling is working its way toward Waimea Bay Beach Park.

As HDOT extends the rockfall fencing toward the bay, rocks are being removed and temporary barriers have been put into place.

According to HDOT, there will be intermittent closures on Monday, Feb. 6 in order to complete the rock scaling. Therefore, traffic holds will be scheduled outside peak travel times in the area, i.e. 5-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. Also, the hold times should not be more than 30 minutes at a time.

UPDATE: HDOT has reopened Kamehameha Highway near Waimea Bay.

According to HDOT, there are “26 feet of temporary concrete barriers [that] have been brought in for reinforcement, creating an eight-foot wall along the side of the highway.”

Continued scaling work will go through tomorrow.