HONOLULU (KHON2) — Crews continue to make repairs on the Likelike Highway following an emergency closure due to issues in the Wilson Tunnel on Thursday night.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation said they have been working to repair 25 fractured ceiling rods found during routine inspection. As a result, both town bound lanes of the highway remain closed between the H-3 Freeway spilt and the tunnel. However, HDOT said the will reopen one lane beginning 5 a.m. on Monday.
In addition to that closure, both Kaneohe-bound lanes will be closed on Sunday for crews to cut back overgrowth at the tunnel entrance. The closure will take place between Nalanieha Street to the Wilson Tunnel from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The fractured rods identified are out of the 270 rods within the Wilson Tunnel ceiling. So far, the HDOT confirmed 10 of the rods have been immediately replaced.
A single-lane closure will remain in place as crews wait for additional materials to complete repairs. This comes ahead of permanent repairs that has been scheduled for mid-2024 — which more than 70 additional rods were ordered for.
Until the permanent repairs are completed, HDOT said they will increase inspections to every six months.
Emergency vehicles will be allowed through the closure, but TheBus will need to use alternate routes.
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The last time emergency repairs were made to the Wilson Tunnel ceiling rods were in 2015 and 2021.
