Lt. Gov. Josh Green, acting on behalf of Gov. David Ige who is in Washington, D.C., issued an emergency proclamation today designating the location of the Pali Highway landslides a disaster area and providing relief for related damage and losses.

The proclamation authorizes the use of state funds to address extensive damage to the slopes along the highway and gives the governor the power to expedite emergency management functions, according to the governor’s office. The proclamation is effective immediately and extends through April 22.

Ige is attending the National Governors Association Winter Meeting in Washington.

The Pali trouble started Monday with landslides near and onto the highway after days of rain.

The landslides closed the highway, a major Windward-downtown artery, until the state Department of Transportation reopened the roadway to one-way, town-bound traffic from 5 to 9 a.m., starting on Thursday. The morning rush-hour, town-bound traffic on weekdays is being contraflowed onto the Kailua-bound lanes.

The highway is also opened for Windward-bound traffic only weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. for the evening commute.

Transportation officials expect the shutdown to last months as state crews fortify the unstable slopes near the Pali tunnels. The highway will also be closed over the next two weekends as work continues. Next week, it will reopen for the contraflowing of the morning and evening commutes for weekdays.

Hikers are asked to stay away from the Likeke Falls hike below Pali Highway until further notice.

State crews are working to dislodge loose material from the slope. Officials said some material is falling downslope of the highway toward the Koolau Golf Course, posing a rockfall danger to those on the trail below.

The Pali Lookout also remains closed.

Transportation officials said they expect to issue an update on proposed slope stabilization designs and a revised schedule for access using the Windward-bound lanes during the week of March 4.

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