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Panel advances $3M for Haiku emergency repairs

A gully is left on Puu Way in Haiku after a culvert collapsed from flooding caused by rains brought by Tropical Storm Lane, which weakened as it neared Maui County on Aug. 24. Image by Richard Pechner/rpechner.com

Maui County Council members recommended approval Tuesday of $3 million in emergency repairs to Puu Way — the Haiku cul-de-sac cut off by Tropical Storm Lane floodwaters — after hearing residents plead for help as soon as possible.

The Budget and Finance Committee’s unanimous recommendation advances to the full council for two readings before the mayor can sign off on the appropriation.

On Aug. 24, flooding from Lane destroyed a portion of Puu Way, leaving three residences in the cul-de-sac with no roadway access.

Department of Public Works Deputy Director Rowena Dagdag-Andaya told council members that county crews initially responded around 8:40 p.m. Aug. 24 to a police emergency call that reported a 15-by-15-foot sinkhole at Puu Way. Crews found a “chasm . . . a big divide,” she said, and workers quickly erected barricades around the sinkhole.

During a damage assessment in the light of the next day, county engineers could see that twin drainage culverts and asphalt pavement had washed away from under Puu Way, leaving a hole 150 feet long, 30 feet wide and 13 feet deep, Dagdag-Andaya said. In addition, a 4-inch waterline broke; electric, telephone and cable conduits were damaged; and existing guardrails were left suspended over what had been a roadway, she reported.

Power and water services were restored in the days after the road washed away.

The roadway damage from more than three weeks ago has made daily life difficult for frustrated residents whose homes remain inaccessible by vehicle.

Roni Panzarini and Clarissa Hempel, the parents of five children who live at 387 Puu Way, said their vehicles remain stranded on their property, and they have needed to borrow cars for transportation.

“It’s causing a lot of stress for me and my family,” said Hempel, holding a crying baby while testifying before council members. “I already have enough stress going on, and this is just adding up to it.”

The family has no landline telephone reception or internet access, she said, and flies and mosquitoes are attracted to growing piles of garbage that’s difficult to dispose of, she said.

Panzarini said family members need to hike on and off the property through a trail cut by county workers. Neighbor Robert Lane said the trail is a 500-foot trek down to the bottom of a hill before crossing a stream.

He said he worries about his neighbors. “God forbid that anything should happen to them,” he said.

Panzarini said the path is muddy, slippery and unsafe. Every day, his 8-year-old child is late to school, he said.

“It’s a hassle for us every day just to leave the house every day,” he said.

A couple of testifiers said the county is responsible for maintaining the road, and it could face lawsuits if anyone is injured trying to get to and from the isolated properties.

“Please consider this an emergency,” Panzarini said, asking for help, at least a temporary road, as soon as possible.

Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya said the county is working to get legal access to neighboring properties to build a temporary access road for the stranded families.

A few neighbors have already given permission, but the county still needs right of entry from a couple of others, he said.

Once access is available, it would take about a week to construct a temporary access road, Andaya said.

The permanent fix is to replace the road and culverts under Puu Way with concrete culverts and to repair the broken waterline and utility conduits.

Design work is underway, Dagdag-Andaya said, and construction should start by the end of October. The project is expected to take six to eight months, she said.

Meanwhile, a request for federal public assistance to pay for repairs is pending with President Donald Trump, county officials reported. Approval is expected, and it would cover 75 percent of repair and replacement costs.

Trump’s decision on federal emergency aid is expected by the end of this week.

* Brian Perry can be reached at bperry@mauinews.com.

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