A media tour of Pali Highway on Friday morning offered a closer view of the extent of damage done to the area around the tunnels and on Old Pali Road.

As state officials announced Thursday, Pali Highway is expected to remain closed for repairs until at least August as crews carry out a two-part plan to make it safer at an estimated cost of $15 million.

On Friday, state Department of Transportation officials took the media on a tour of the three trouble spots where landslides caused damage last month: Old Pali Road, the mudslide area on the Kailua-bound lanes of the highway on the Windward side of the tunnel, and the rockfall site between the two tunnels on the Honolulu-bound side of the highway.

The tour started at the now-shuttered Pali Lookout and Old Pali Road, where the wind sheer was so strong that it was difficult to walk against the force or keep hard hats on.

Once there, the most striking sight was the section of the road that had sloughed off and down the slope. Boulders from higher up had damaged the road, sending pieces of concrete down onto Pali Highway.

PHOTO GALLERY >> Tour of Pali Highway landslide area

Contractors from Prometheus Construction are rappelling down the slope from the road and putting in anchors to eventually install a strong, mesh barrier to catch debris from the slope above.

The second site on the tour was on the Kailua-­bound side of Pali Highway, where a mudslide occurred Feb. 18 on the hillside after the tunnel.

Crews have installed erosion mats on the hillside, hydro-mulched it to encourage grass to grow faster, and will also install mesh to prevent debris from falling, according to DOT spokesman Tim Sakahara.

The third site — the area between the two tunnels on Pali Highway town-bound, where large boulders and dirt came sliding down Feb. 18 — is a key area of focus for the state.

Sakahara said this spot is a concern for future rockfalls due to the topography of the Koolaus, which funnels down toward the tunnel.

On Friday a massive pile of rubble, including rocks, dirt and chunks of concrete from Old Pali Road, completely blocked off the entrance to the secondtunnel.

Crews are working seven days a week to remove it, Sakahara said, and about a dozen truckloads a day are being hauled away. He said removal of the debris from the area is anticipated to be done Sunday.

According to the state’s two-part plan, the crews will first install the mesh barrier on the slope at Old Pali Road to help catch falling debris.

Once that is done, at about the end of April, they will extend the entrance to the second tunnel, Honolulu-­bound, about 80 feet. It will be a new structure designed to deflect falling debris away from the road.

Future landslides are expected, said Sakahara, so the state’s goal is to put protection measures in place.

The distance between the two tunnels on Pali Highway town-bound is about 475 feet.

The Pali Lookout, meanwhile, remains closed. The state also urges the public to avoid trails in the area, including the Likeke Falls hike between the lookout and the Koolau Golf Course.

Access to Pali Highway will remain the same as in previous weeks for the rest of March. Two contra-flow lanes of Honolulu-bound traffic will be open from 5 to 9 a.m. weekdays, and all lanes of Kailua/Kaneohe­-bound traffic will be open from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays.