HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaiian Electric announced Thursday that they have reached a milestone in their ongoing efforts to repair damage from the recent Kona low storms.

A particularly challenging task was repairing a key transmission line, which carries electricity from Leeward Oahu to Windward Oahu, Waimanalo, and East Honolulu.

“Our crew leaders say this was one of the hardest jobs of their careers,” said Jason Cosma, Hawaiian Electric superintendent of transmission and distribution operations.

A steel structure that holds the transmission line on top of a narrow ridge of the Koolau Range above Moanalua Valley was heavily damaged.

With no roads to the worksite, which was hundreds of feet above the ground, a specialized heavy-lift helicopter was required to move equipment, supplies, and crews to the top of the ridge.

Crews also had to build a path and rope line to safely reach the area where the structures were set.

Repair work was interrupted by the string of Kona low storms that struck in March, adding another obstacle to the already difficult job.

“Our guys have been working on this since February when it first went down, and even after dealing with a couple of major storms that pushed them physically, they came right back to finish the job,” Cosma said.

HECO says the transmission system is critical to the island’s electric grid.