Driving through Pahoa as lava continues to threaten the town became a little easier Thursday when police removed a roadblock where Post Office Road meets Highway 130.
Access to the road from the highway was restricted late last month as Hawaii County sought to limit traffic near the path of the June 27 lava flow.
Full access was restored at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Pahoa Village Road between Apaa Street and Post Office Road remains closed to nonresidents since that area remains at risk. The same restrictions apply to Apaa Street.
Darryl Oliveira, county Civil Defense administrator, said the county made the change in response to concerns raised by residents and merchants about that roadblock’s impact to the flow of traffic through the area.
Oliveira said the county is trying to balance traffic flow with public safety.
Road access will remain restricted in the path of the flow, he said.
Shawn Heard of Leilani Estates said the change will make it easier for residents to plan their trips through town and access the post office.
“That would be lovely not to have to think about,” she said, referring to the roadblock.
Community Emergency Response Teams and Red Cross volunteers visited with more residents on Pahoa Village Road and Apaa Street on Wednesday evening to assess their needs should they need to evacuate, Oliveira said.
They distributed a flyer, called an “evacuation notice,” to advise them to be prepared to leave once threatened, Oliveira said.
Flow update
Civil Defense observed decreased activity at the flow’s three main breakouts Thursday morning.
Oliveira said a lobe advancing toward Apaa Street mauka of the Pahoa waste transfer station moved 50 to 75 yards in 24 hours. That’s down from 225 yards the previous day.
That breakout was about 0.2 miles from the road Thursday morning and it still could cross the road in a few days, he said. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists were assessing the area’s topography to confirm its likely path.
Lava continued to flow into the transfer station but at a more “sluggish” rate, Oliveira said. The flow was filling a low spot along the $3.95 million facility’s perimeter, but no structures had been damaged as of Thursday morning.
Additionally, lava activity was weak on private property off Cemetery Road, where a home was destroyed Monday.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.