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On my way to Hilo at 7AM on 130 was diverted by police with no detour signage onto Pohaku Drive. Well yes you can drive to 40th then out via Ola'a but 40 that section is a riverbed and almost impassible. Most others also diverted would not know where or how to go. Also it's "private roads" no county maintenance. So if the cops and the county are suggesting as they did this morning that as an alternate "escape" route to 11 out of Puna wouldn't it be wise for the county to take over that route and pave it and maintain it rather than leave it to OLE and the proposed $300 a year for roads? If the volcano cuts off 130 around Ainaloa there would be an additional need for another route out of Puna. 130 was closed from 5:16AM to 9:59 AM per the HPD website. Had this been a weekday and school day imagine the mess; it was awful enough.
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It's hard to choose which song to keep in your car for this type of situation.
There's Bob Dylan (Stuck inside of Mobile With the Memphis blues again)
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Puna
With the Hilo blues again
And of course Creedence (Lodi):
Things got bad, and things got worse, I guess you will know the tune.
Oh ! Lord, stuck in Puna again.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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I took that route a few weeks ago when I was trying to find a standby route between HPP and Hilo. I was riding a 150cc scooter, and my nephew was on a Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster. Pretty rough route in places. I'd do it without a second thought on a dual sport. My scooter doesn't have much suspension travel, and it has street tires. My nephew's Harley is a street bike, of course. It was a muddy street bike that day. I need to get a dual sport motorcycle. I'm thinking, when they do the bulk of the paving, it's going to be a nasty commute every day. I don't have to go to Hilo, except when I teach chess classes 3 days a week.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
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This is a hotbed topic in Orchidland. Most of the community wants this section paved.(Intersection of Pohaku Dr. and 40th) There are a few old timers that don't want it. I know of one that's on the Board of Directors that does whatever he can to stop it. I suspect it's because they live off Pohaku Drive and don't want the traffic. It's a pretty selfish thing to put a burden on a community to serve your own self interests.
Somewhere between Polynesian paralysis and Puna politics is where the problem lies.
One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.
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Well, let's see what the vote turns out. Dying to know... I'm all for paving it!
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Just a side note. The Nixie message came in at 9:59 am, but 130 was open almost 2 hours prior, and we got the Nixie message as we were finishing breakfast at Peles Kitchen (wonderful, BTW), after driving there on the open 130....
That said, a number of vendors at Maku`u Market definitely felt the closure, as many were caught having to go back to 11 then up to 8 & out early morning... it seemed to mix up the normal vendor spots quite a bit, but could also be the new assignment process...
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@Amrita - as bad as your detour was, I'm sure it was worse for the young man that died in the car accident that caused the closure. And his family.
If you want to know about traffic delays, sign up for Nixle alerts from the police dept. Its free to sign up. I got a text around 5 am that the road would be closed. Decided against going into town because I knew traffic would be a mess.
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amrita - Your answer is right in your post - it's a riverbed. Why would the County take on the liability of a paved riverbed ? Have you ever seen the volume of water that crosses that part of 40th during a heavy rain event? As a taxpayer, no thanks. There's a reason the lots in that area sell for cheap.
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quote:
It's a pretty selfish thing to put a burden on a community to serve your own self interests.
Like creating a subdivision that uses all possible land for sellable lots, while leaving no meaningful roads, in hopes that future residents will somehow force the government to clean up after the mess created by the illegal subdivision?
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The day I took that route (40th), there was a small lake on 40th. Se met a UPS truck coming the other way. We all made it through without a mishap. That wasn't after a heavy rain either, I think.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
