OAHU, Hawaii -- Besides bringing big waves, the winter season also brings rain to the islands. Now, more heavy rains threaten to knock out a vital road in windward Oahu.

In the past, flooding rains have caused water to wash over small bridges in Kaaawa and Hauula, but now there is the possibility Kamehameha Highway could get washed away this winter.

Work has begun to fix a problem stream that not only floods during downpours.

When the heavy rains hit Hauula, the Kaipapau stream also eroded the land under a nearby home.

Flash flooding did more than just damage a home along its banks; it also changed the direction of the stream itself.

"What it's done is created a hazard where it now threatens the road," said Brennon Morioka, state department of transportation director.

Without the road, many residents would be cut off from the rest of their community -- that could turn a simple drive to work into a two-hour ordeal.

Linda and David Bangart live along the stream and have seen its power when flooding rains have come before.

"The water will get up to the bottom of the bridge and you'll see it creating a wave on the other side that is as high as the roadway itself. We've seen palm trees 30-feet high go through it and end up on the beach. So it is a tremendous amount of power," said David Bangart.

Before the stream takes out the road, crews will clear the water of debris and put protective barriers in place along the eroded embankments.

"Right now, we see a lot of storm fronts coming our way. We're in the middle of the rainy season and we don't want to take chance and cross our fingers and wait for the road to wash away," said Morioka.

Then, in the future, the stream bridge will be replaced, allowing for more rainfall and runoff to flow to the sea, without doing damage to the Hauula community.

The current project is expected to take eight or nine weeks to finish, and because some of the work will happen close to Kamehameha Highway, traffic may be stopped periodically until the work is done.