A late Friday landslide on Kalanianaole Highway at Kanapuu Drive turned the usual eastside cruise into a bumper-to-bumper crawl, blocking several lanes in both directions and tangling traffic across Oʻahu’s east side. Honolulu police logged the slide at about 10:15 p.m., and crews worked through the night to clear debris and manage the backup. No injuries were immediately reported, but drivers heading through Hawaii Kai toward Waimānalo spent much of the night and early morning inching along instead of cruising home.
Oahu #hitraffic #hiwx 3/13/26 10:15PM: HPD reporting landslide on Kalanianaole Highway at Kanapuu Drive blocking several lanes in both directions.
March 14, 2026
Official Alert and Overnight Response
In an overnight update from Hawaii DOT, officials relayed the Honolulu Police Department report of a landslide at Kanapuu Drive and confirmed that state crews were on scene to clear the roadway and direct traffic. The advisory urged drivers to expect delays while workers removed mud and debris from the blocked lanes. At the time of the post, agencies had not given any estimate for when the highway would fully reopen.
Drivers Stuck in a Slow-Motion Commute
The slide choked off a key route for eastside commuters, triggering long, slow-moving backups that spilled into surrounding neighborhoods. Drivers reported detours onto side streets and significantly longer travel times as vehicles funneled around the closure. Emergency responders and road crews focused on getting at least part of the highway moving again as first light made conditions safer to work in.
Soaked Slopes and a Kona Low
The landslide hit as a strong Kona low drenched the islands with heavy rain and put much of Oʻahu under flood watches. The National Weather Service in Honolulu had issued a flood watch and hydrologic outlook as deep tropical moisture pushed over the island, a setup that has been tied to past landslides and road closures. Officials have repeatedly cautioned that saturated hillsides can give way without warning after prolonged or intense rainfall.
Not the First Trouble Spot on This Stretch
Kalanianaole has had its share of headaches in recent years, with state and city crews tackling sinkholes and unstable slopes along the corridor after major storms. For context, the highway saw a highway sinkhole shutdown last year, and Hawaii News Now chronicled earlier slope-stabilization work near Makapuu. Those operations brought overnight closures and detours while crews removed loose rock and tried to keep the cliffs above the roadway from shedding more debris…