Update: Maui Bus stuck in sinkhole following water main break in Kahului
Update: 12:04 p.m., Nov. 21, 2024
Maui Bus passengers and its driver safely exited the bus around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday after the vehicle’s rear tires were caught in a Kahului sinkhole.
County of Maui Department of Transportation, which oversees Maui Bus, reported no injuries. The area on Lono Avenue near West Kamehameha Avenue was coned off while remaining road repairs went out to bid.
County DOT said the Maui Bus driver navigated through pooling water before the rear tires were stuck. At the time, the sinkhole was small and concealed by the water, according to a county news release update.
The hole grew to approximately 15-by-30-feet wide and 5-feet deep by the end of the evening due to water pressure and digging, according to County Department of Water Supply.
The sinkhole was caused by an aging 12-inch watermain break. As a result, a portion of Lono Avenue was closed from around 3:30 to 11:30 p.m., and area water was shut off from 3:30 to 10 p.m., DWS said. The waterline was successfully repaired by DWS.
The bus was extracted by D&D Towing and was able to be driven to the Roberts Hawai’i base yard. It will undergo minor repairs before returning to service.
DWS officials encourage motorists to avoid driving through pooling water during flooding, water breaks and other infrastructure incidents.
Update:
The Maui Bus that was stuck in a depressed portion of Lono Avenue on Wednesday, has since been removed. The road is patched and was open for morning traffic on Thursday.
Previous post:
A Maui Bus is stuck in a depressed portion of the road on Lono Avenue in Kahului following reports of a water main break in the area. The back portion of the bus is lodged in the road just north of the intersection of Kamehameha Avenue. Crews are on scene assisting.
Editor’s note: Maui Now’s Wendy Osher contributed to this report