Kokua Line

By June Watanabe

Friday, January 9, 1998

Foundation for new sign
on H-1 won't go to waste

Going Ewa on the H-1, just after Moanalua Gardens, there is an on-ramp to the freeway. In 1996, they did some construction on the medial strip, enlarging it and putting in four bolts that look like the foundation for new signs for the H-3. Nothing more happened. Then right by the Kaiser Hospital cut-off, they put up an H-3 sign right away. Was the first work a mistake? If so, whose fault was it and how much did this mistake cost?

The foundation is for a future electronic sign that will give advance notice of conditions on the H-3 for motorists planning to use the new freeway to go to Kaneohe, said Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali. The sign "will be mounted on that foundation as part of a finishing contract that hasn't gotten under way," she said.

For well over a week in early December, I saw police cars parked on each of the on- and off-ramps at both ends of the H-3, plus another security guard posted at the electrical substation and subterranean passage in Aiea. This was 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Why, in this age of high technology, couldn't they just post several traffic cameras to provide surveillance at a fraction of the cost? Or even a low-tech solution, such as drawing a chain across the ramps? Or use a private security firm, which would be cheaper?

If it's any consolation to you, the off-duty officers were hired by the contractor. So you weren't paying for the 24-hour security - at least not directly.

The officers were chosen over all other options, according to Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali, because they were needed "to prevent illegal entry onto the H-3 until it could be officially opened.

The contractor was working around the clock, and had men and equipment on the H-3 24 hours a day in the week preceding the (Dec. 12) opening."

The officers were needed for the workers' safety, she said. Also, surveillance cameras had not yet been hooked up.

"If police were not on the spot and people went in, it would have taken too long for them to respond," Kali said. Off-duty officers also are preferred because they have the power to arrest violators.

I recently renewed my no-fault auto insurance policy. It covers medical, work loss, funeral and rehab expenses. But effective Jan. 1, the work-loss provision and funeral-expense coverages are optional. Will I be able to cancel these two provisions and obtain a partial refund or am I not permitted to do this by law?

There is no state law prohibiting you from canceling your contract, a spokeswoman for the state Insurance Division said.

"Anybody has a right to cancel the contract," she said. You then have to get a new policy. "We have no reason to believe they will not" rewrite a policy, she said.

Whatever refunds you get depends on what your agreement is with your insurer. You're advised to talk to your agent.

Mahalo

To the person who persistently tried to catch our attention to indicate something was wrong with our car as my daughter and I drove to school from Ewa to Honolulu on Dec. 16. That gave me time to get onto the shoulder, preventing a traffic jam. Mahalo also to the young man from Makakilo in a blue truck who stopped to help fix my first-ever flat tire and another man who stopped to check whether we needed more help. - Carolyn Hildebrand

Mahalo

To the person who stopped to help an injured dog when no one else would on Dillingham Boulevard, in front of the prison, early morning on Dec. 16. May God bless your soul for such a wonderful act.