Kokua Line: When will Round Top Drive reopen?

Christine Donnelly, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
·3 min read
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Aug. 23—Question: Round Top Drive near the top has been closed since late 2021 due to a landslide. Repairs have been ongoing. Residents above the closed area must travel up and down Tantalus Drive, which is deteriorated in so many areas. Potholes and washboardlike sections due to traffic and rainy washout and overgrown side vegetation make it a dangerous commute for residents, bikers, joggers, and tourists and others who hear about the trails and views. When will Round Top fully reopen?

Answer: Round Top Drive has reopened to residents and the public, the city said Tuesday, after emergency repairs that were completed in two phases. "The road was initially closed from 4120 to 4126 Round Top Drive due to a landslide and road failure from heavy rains associated with the Kona Low Storm in December 2021," it said in a news release. The slope where the landslide occurred was stabilized during the first phase of construction, and the adjacent road was rebuilt during the second phase, which wrapped up Monday.

Now the city is moving on to the other road you mentioned. Roadway improvement is scheduled to begin in the vicinity of 3798 Tantalus Drive on Monday. "This project includes clearing, rock anchor installation, shotcrete application, shotcrete sculpting, anchor wire mesh installation, demolition of roadway walls, construction of new roadway walls, and roadway repairs," the news release said.

Tantalus Drive may be intermittently closed to traffic during project hours, which will be 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, excluding holidays. This work is expected to be completed in March.

Q: What language translators does FEMA have on the ground on Maui? Which languages (other than English) are available? Are there enough who speak Pacific island/COFA languages and Filipino dialects?

A: As of Saturday a spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was providing printed materials for survivors in Hawaiian, Ilocano, Tagalog, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Tongan, Marshallese and Chuukese; that multilingual agents were available by phone; and that field teams were working on getting more in-person interpreters on the ground to assist people affected by the Aug. 8 wildfires. Here are the details:

>> FEMA's telephone assistance line offers help in many languages. If the agent who answers is fluent in the caller's language, that agent helps the caller. If not, the agent uses Language Line Services to assist. The FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 has access to 123 languages available for translation services.

Field teams on Maui are procuring multiple language services, including:

>> Written translations and over-the-phone interpretation dedicated exclusively to the Hawaii recovery process.

>> American Sign Language interpretation and CART services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing population. CART is a captioning method.

>> On-site language interpretation with local providers for Ilocano, Hawaiian, Tagalog, Spanish, Korean and Japanese. FEMA also is seeking a vendor to include capabilities for other languages, namely Tongan, Marshallese, Bisayan (Cebuano), Samoan, Pohnpeian, Thai and Chuukese.

COFA stands for the Compact(s) of Free Association, referring to treaties between the United States, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau. COFA migrants are considered "nonimmigrants without visas" and generally aren't eligible for FEMA aid. However, U.S.-born children of COFA migrants are eligible and can apply for aid for their household, if the child and parent live together. "The parent or legal guardian must apply as the co-applicant, and the minor child must be under 18 at the time disaster occurred," according to FEMA's website.

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Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.

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