Hawaii County workers took down a road sign in lower Puna on Monday because portions of the sign had become illegible due to shotgun spray damage.
The large sign at the intersection of Highway 132 and Highway 137 — sometimes known as Four Corners, or the lighthouse intersection — is a frequent target for vandalism, according to the county Department of Public Works.
“They expect to replace that sign at least once a year,” said Aaron Takaba, a civil engineer in the Highway Division’s safety section.
“Pretty much as soon as it gets put up, it gets shot at again.”
The sign displays distances to Pahoa, Keaau and Hilo. When it came down Monday, the word Hilo was virtually unrecognizable because of the shotgun marks.
Takaba said the rural and remote Kapoho location of the sign made it a more vulnerable target.
“If we were to be asked, ‘Where does it happen the most?’ that’s probably one of the worst places,” he said. “There’s nobody there to catch anybody or see it (happening).”
“The thing is, it costs about $500 to replace, and because it’s so big, the sheeting has to be specially cut,” Takaba said.
He was unsure whether Monday’s replacement was due to someone calling in a complaint or part of a regular county maintenance check.
Puna isn’t the only district that can give county workers sign headaches. In Hamakua, people sometimes throw “No Parking” signs into the rivers and gulches.
“It’s kind of a problem, because we have to go down and get it,” Takaba said.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
