STATE INSTALLING 82 NEW ROADSIDE EMERGENCY PHONES ON O`AHU

For Immediate Release:  February 9, 2004

HONOLULU – O`ahu motorists, as well as park users and residents on the Wai`anae Coast, will soon have access to new emergency phones.

Governor Linda Lingle has released $325,000 for the installation of 80 emergency phones (65 new phones and 15 upgrades of existing phones) along the H-1 Freeway from Halawa Interchange to Ainakoa Avenue in Wai`alae Kahala; Moanalua Freeway from Halawa Interchange to Middle Street; and Kamehameha Highway from Weed Circle to Kamananui Road.  The phones, which will be installed by the state Department of Transportation (DOT), will enable highway users to request emergency police, fire and medical services or other assistance.

The Governor’s approval allows the DOT to advertise for bids for the installation of new emergency solar powered cellular telephones and the upgrading of existing phones to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.  All 80 phones are expected to be operational by March 2005.  The project, which is part of the statewide highway emergency telephone program, has also received federal funding of $1.3 million.

Next month, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will begin installing a line for two emergency phones between Makaha and Kaena Point, an area where there currently are no pay phones or cellular service.  DLNR will install an emergency phone near the guard shack at Yokohama Beach, and one outside the gate to the Makua Range.  The new phones are expected to be operational by early May.  The U.S. Army is currently providing a phone in the interim at the Yokohama guard shack.

“In our ongoing discussions with various communities, safety continues to be a consistent concern among residents,” said Governor Lingle.  “The new emergency phones will offer direct communications to emergency response teams so they can provide timely assistance that can save lives.”

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For more information, contact:
Lenny Klompus 
Senior Advisor – Communications 
Phone: 586-7705

Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: 586-0043