KAPA‘A — Jerome “The Shadow” Freitas, a government watchdog and whistle-blower, never takes a day off from his work.
Among other tasks, Freitas puts the spotlight on old bridges, guardrails, and roads in poor condition, with the purpose of pushing government officials to make them safe for use by residents.
Most recently, Freitas urged Kaua‘i County officials to replace a missing metal guardrail on a small bridge near the intersection of Kanaele and Apopo roads in Kapa‘a.
Placement of a new guardrail would be the best shield against a tragic accident, and the lawsuit that would likely follow, Freitas said.
With the makaiside guardrail of the bridge no longer there, a speeding or unknowing driver could go over the edge of the bridge, and plummet 15 feet into a stream under the structure.
“I am not pointing fingers at anyone, but something has to be done here. This is dangerous,” Freitas said.
County Department of Public Works officials are apparently on top of the situation, as five, orange-colored emergency cones have been placed on the edge of the bridge where the rail was, as a way to warn motorists of a dangerous situation.
Flashing emergency signal lights had been posted on top of wooden carpenter horses, but one of the two horses lay on the ground, either the result of vandalism or the result of it having been hit by a vehicle traveling across the bridge.
The stream below the bridge is flanked by vegetation-covered embankments.
In the event of a car going off the edge of the bridge at night, a motorist or motorists would have a very difficult time climbing out of the stream in the darkness, Freitas said.
“How they going to get out of there?” Freitas asked, as he looked down into the stream.
Freitas said he has no idea how long the bridge has been in the condition it is today, but said he took pictures of the bridge in May and met with County Engineer Donald Fujimoto and other DPW officials in June.
The safety cones have been in place prior to his taking the photos, he said. How the guardrail has been knocked down is not known.
Freitas, a retired maintenance worker with the state Department of Transportation Airports Division, knows that government officials sometimes work in slow ways, but is frustrated the dangerous situation still exists.
“I am not criticizing Donald or the others (DPW) leaders, but something got to be done, for the safety of the people,” Freitas said.
Freitas said the remaining matching guardrail located on the makai side of the bridge also is old, and should be replaced.
The bridge, which measures a little more than 20 feet in width, boasts a 12-ton capacity, has an asphalt top, and is supported by a horizontal steel support girder beneath it.
The bridge is on a road that provides access to the heavily-used Kapa‘a transfer station.
