Tourists and island residents hoping to visit Mauna Kea’s summit anytime soon likely will be left disappointed as the road closure is expected to continue through the end of the week.
Tourists and island residents hoping to visit Mauna Kea’s summit anytime soon likely will be left disappointed as the road closure is expected to continue through the end of the week.
University of Hawaii spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said crews were able to get a water truck to observatories on the summit Tuesday but expected to continue their safety assessments of the roadway and nearby slopes today and possibly Thursday. Work will be paused Friday in recognition of the July 4 holiday.
“The bottom line is, we’re liable for safety on the road,” he said.
“We’re going to make sure we do it right.”
Access was restricted a week ago after Thirty Meter Telescope opponents tossed hundreds of rocks from the mountainside onto the road to prevent construction crews from reaching the summit. Rock walls and stone altars also were constructed.
Several protesters removed the obstructions over 2-3 miles of roadway by the end of the week, but restoring public access up the narrow and steep mountain road is proving to be a slow process.
While the rocks were moved to the sides of the road out of the path of vehicles, Meisenzahl said they are still in the way of road graders that need to do regular maintenance. A grader made a pass on one side of the road to allow the water truck, which at one point got stuck on the road, to reach the summit.
UH is responsible for the 8.5 miles of roadway above Hale Pohaku.
Meisenzahl said the rocks could be used to reduce erosion on one of the road’s “hairpin turns.”
“We have to figure out what do with all those rocks,” he said.
According to Meisenzahl, the rocks aren’t allowed to be taken off the mountain, and they can’t be tossed down the slope since that could endanger people and vehicles below.
Access above the 9,200-foot level is restricted for the time being to UH and observatory staff, and Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners who are escorted to the summit.
Kahookahi Kanuha, a protest organizer, said protesters took down their tent across the road from the closed Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station but plan to maintain a near 24-hour presence as they have for the past three months.
The TMT opponents, who say they are protecting a sacred mountain, also installed two portable lua Tuesday following the closure of the small visitor center and its restroom facilities. The portable toilets are open to everyone, Kanuha said.
“We decided we would care for them (visitors) while the Office of Mauna Kea Management and the state has shutdown the facilities,” he said.
Meisenzahl said there is no immediate plan to reopen the visitor center, which was closed Thursday morning. Stargazing events there also are cancelled.
The closure is attributed to increased operating costs.
“The VIS was never designed to support the type of activity seen over the last four months,” he said.
Meisenzahl said use of water, which is trucked to the site, increased from 5,000 gallons a day to 15,000 gallons on the day of the last protest.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.