Waimea Bay Slope Repairs Complete, Kamehameha Highway Lane Reopens

The makai lane of Kamehameha Highway at Waimea Bay reopened at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, after the Hawaii Department of Transportation completed slope stabilization work that began following the first of two Kona low pressure systems to batter the islands in March.

The stretch of highway above the popular jumping rock, running between the Waimea Bay parking lot and ʻIliohu Way, had been reduced to a single lane since March 18. HDOT had originally projected the closure would last through April 10, making the early completion a roughly ten-day acceleration of the timeline.

The Kona lows that drove the repair work were the same systems that hammered Kauai in mid-March, raising river levels across the island and prompting emergency responses from Kauaʻi Emergency Management. On Oʻahu's North Shore, the storms stripped hillside vegetation and triggered slope movement: the embankment below the highway shifted eight feet downward and approximately three feet away from the roadway, forcing HDOT to act quickly to protect the corridor.

The completed scope of work included soil anchors drilled deep into the hillside, new drainage systems to redirect groundwater, and a shotcrete wall painted to blend with the natural landscape. Engineers had previously designed a long-term stabilization system using a concrete face anchored with tensioned steel rods drilled 50 to 60 feet into the slope.

A second Kona low struck while crews were still on site for the first round of interim repairs, adding pressure to an already active work zone and prompting HDOT to modify the closure plan. The agency had shifted from overnight full closures to a continuous daytime single-lane closure to keep pace with the stabilization schedule.

Kamehameha Highway is the primary artery connecting Haleʻiwa and the North Shore to the rest of Oʻahu, and the closure had forced drivers to detour via H-3 and the Likelike Highway during much of March.