WAILUA — A cement spill along Kuhio Highway on Wednesday morning created a traffic nightmare for motorists having to use that heavily traveled stretch of roadway.
WAILUA — A cement spill along Kuhio Highway on Wednesday morning created a traffic nightmare for motorists having to use that heavily traveled stretch of roadway.
The incident left a portion of the highway shuttered for about four hours, as crews worked to clean up the mess in the outer northbound lane between mile marker 3.5 and 4 near the entrance to the Kaua‘i Beach Resort.
“According to a preliminary report, a truck belonging to Kaua‘i Concrete spilled cement along the outer northbound lane shortly after 6:30 a.m.,” the Kaua‘i Police Department said in a statement.
“The vehicle, operated by a 62-year-old male, was later located by KPD. The driver was cited for spilling loads on highways.”
The cleanup involved a wealth of help, ranging from Kaua‘i Fire Department and state Department of Transportation personnel to Kaua‘i Concrete, and “private contractors providing equipment (that) removed the concrete from the roadway,” the police department said in a statement.
While all of that work was going on, traffic backed up on the highway. Bumper-to-bumper traffic remained in the southbound direction for the remainder of the morning.
Vehicles were reportedly stacked up from the intersection of Kuamo‘o Road and Kuhio Highway to the turnoff into Hanama‘ulu at Kuhio Highway and Kapule Highway, which made for a slow crawl to Lihu‘e.
•••
Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
It would be really nice if all the remaining concrete dust was cleaned off the shoulder. Riding a bicycle or moped on that stuff could be like trying to ride on a bunch of marbles rolled out on the pavement. HUGE liability situation for the state and the cement company.