Kamehameha Highway is the only highway for many communities on the North Shore. | By KITV Web Staff | Thursday, October 10th 2019 | www.kitv.com
Starting this Sunday parts of it will be shut down overnight so large pieces of equipment can be transported for a new wind farm in Kahuku.
KITV4’s Eddie Dowd talked with employers in the area about the impact it might have to their workforce.
The concern is with workers who work the night shift. This project will run for 6 weeks on weekdays from midnight to 5 a.m. from Waimea Bay to Turtle Bay where many people commute.
“We’re here to provide healthcare for the population. That’s our primary goal is taking care of the population. So I just want to make sure that’s not going to be interrupted,” Kahuku Hospital President Alan MacPhee said.
Alan MacPhee is the CEO of Kahuku Hospital and wants to make sure his employees can get to and from work when closures come this Sunday to Kamehameha Highway.
“You know very important. Usually we have people on call because in case something comes up, they have to come in from their areas and meet our healthcare needs going forward and this could be in the nursing areas, this could be in the imaging department. This could be in the lab area,” MacPhee said.
Just a few miles down the street is Turtle Bay Resorts, the largest employer on the North Shore with about 600 workers. The vice president says he’ll give rooms to any worker who has trouble getting home.
But for now, they’ll be keeping their eye on it.
“The main thing is we just needed to know about it so we could start our planning,” MacPhee said.
The CEO of Kahuku Hospital tells KITV4 he was just contacted on Thursday by AES about the project.
In a statement by AES to KITV4 it says it’s “committed to ensuring as minimal disruption as possible for North Shore residents during transportation.”
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/10/11/some-north-shore-residents-concerned-what-wind-farm-project-will-mean-for-their-commute/