FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       April 4, 2006

CITY, STATE WARN ALL TO AVOID ROUND TOP DRIVE SLIDE AREA

The closed stretch of Round Top Drive near Maunalaha is off limits not only to motorists but also to pedestrians, bicyclists and everyone else, City and state officials said today.

Repeated landslides there have left the road severely undermined and unsafe for vehicular traffic, and it was closed Sunday evening. The road is also hazardous to others because of the globular black sand that is sliding down the hillside and onto the road, said City Facility Maintenance Director Laverne Higa.

“It’s like trying to walk on marbles,” said Higa. “The footing is very unsafe. In addition, it’s possible trees and other debris might come tumbling down, so we’d like everyone to avoid that stretch of road.”

The City owns the road, and the state owns the hillside that has been sliding onto the road for much of the past month of heavy rains. City Road Maintenance crews hauled more than 100 truckloads – roughly 800 tons – of soil, rocks  and debris from the  road over the past month.

The closure of a half-mile stretch of Round Top Drive including the 2700 block and the nearby  hairpin turn is indefinite and may last several months.

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Contact:

            Mark Matsunaga, City Public Affairs Officer,  527-5767

            Bill Brennan, Press Secretary to the Mayor, 527-6928

            Ray Lovell, State Civil Defense, 733-4300 ext. 524