THE CARROLL COX SHOW

A number of trucking and pumping services contacted us and asked us to look into developments at the Paumalu Bridge on Kamehameha Highway on the North Shore. The Hawaii Department of Transportation told us the D.O.T is not allowing vehicles over 15 tons to travel over the bridge out of concerns that the bridge could collapse due to the deterioration of the bridge's support beams and other components.

The truckers say that this current policy requires them to charge a 50 to 100 percent increase in fees in order to provide their services to the North Shore area. They also told us, if they were permitted to use alternate sewer dump sites in other areas it would offset the increased cost by saving time, but the City and County of Honolulu Environmental Services will not authorize the use of alternate pumping sites at other locations.

We observed City buses traveling over the bridge in a normal fashion and they exceed the 15 ton limit. We will be contacting the Mayor's office for a response. We took the following photographs under the bridge to show the deteriorated conditions. A group of waste pumping service truck operators and owners told us that the D O.T's actions present a hardship on pumping services because the pumping trucks have to travel a longer route to pump the septic tanks in the area and then travel the long route back to dispose of the waste.

PAUMALU BRIDGE