The danger is real for crews working to make the Pali Highway safe. More than 2/3 of one portion the Old Pali Road is missing. It crumbled, landing on the Pali Highway below. The initial rockslide came down on February 18, 2019 forcing the highway to close.

Standing near portion of the Old Pali Road that collapsed, you can see the rebar sticking out of what’s left of the concrete wall.

Rocks of all sizes continue to fall from up above.

One member of the crew is tasked with watching for falling rocks. When he sees one, he blows a horn warning everyone to take cover. The KHON2 crew was told to move as close to the mountainside as possible if the horn blows.

Workers are secured, clipped into the rockwall, several of them dangling by ropes. They are stabilizing the mountainside and are constantly battling the elements.

KHON: “How dangerous is this? How many hours a day are they doing this, and in what kind of conditions?”

“I can’t say enough about the crews from Prometheus,” Tim Sakahara said from the department of transportation. “This is difficult right now with the wind just standing here. But yet, these guys are rappeling down the slope, working hammering 12 hours a day, seven days a week.”

They are pounding in reinforcing rebar to secure the protective fence meant to catch any falling rocks or other debris. The fence will make is safer down below where crews are busy clearing large boulders and other massive piles of dirt and concrete. Earlier this week, the pile of rubble was so high it was almost as tall as the tunnel.

Workers on site said that the pile of debris extends 20 feet into the tunnel. They also said they’ve hauled out at least 16 truck-loads of debris each day since Monday. They’re expecting to have everything cleared up in the next three days.

“Once that is done, that’s when the crews can come in and start building the tunnel structure itself that extends out over the Pali lanes and the highway,” Sakahara said.

That will protect drivers and cars from future rockfalls and mudslides.

“There will be future landslides. Even once this work is done, it doesn’t mean there’s not going to be a landslide again in the future,” Sakahara explained.

Crews even pointed a stress-crack in the mountainside directly over the slope that is being repaired.

Sakahara said that crews are doing what they can to mitigate the problem.

The department of transportation said the work stabilizing the mountainside should be completed by the end of April and crews are expected to have the new tunnel built by the end of August.