The Wai'anae Coast Emergency Access Route — an alternative backroads patchwork of roadways to Farrington Highway, the only highway leading in and out of the Wai'anae Coast — opened this morning after years of delays.

The route is essentially a bypass route between Nanakuli and Wai'anae. Previously, there has not been a complete passageway between both ends of the coast for motorists to follow.

The route, in the works since Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris' administration, has been stalled for numerous reasons over the years.

At a dedication ceremony this morning at the intersection of Lualualei Naval Road and Pa'akea Road, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann cut the ribbon opening the route, which will allow motorists to bypass portions of Farrington Highway during emergencies that force the closure of the main highway.

Hannemann said the route, which will only be open during emergencies, will help ensure that area residents are not cut off from their homes as that have been in the past when Farrington was closed, as well as enhance public safety by providing alternative paths for fire, ambulances and other emergency vehicles.

The four lane Farrington Highway has frequently been cut off in one of both directions due to such things as water main break and natural disasters.

While the emergency access route will not insure that traffic moving in and out of the coast won't be shut down in the future, Wayne Yoshioka, director of the Department of Transportation Services, said it will give motorists on the coast more room to maneuver during times when Farrington is closed for emergencies.