Mililani Interchange
By Crystal Kua
work will improve safety
Star-Bulletin
Mililani Mauka residents heading to Honolulu will get their own lane and ramp onto the H-2 freeway. A $3.8 million construction project began Oct. 5 on improvements to the Mililani Interchange, a juncture at which cars get on and off of the H-2 via Meheula Parkway.
Currently, Mililani Mauka commuters driving on Meheula Parkway have to make a left turn at a traffic light to get to the on-ramp. Once there, they merge with Honolulu-bound Mililani town commuters.
The area tends to bottleneck and can sometimes cause safety problems.
"Anywhere from about 7:30-ish, because of school, it's usually backed up," Mililani Mauka resident Jeanette Nekota said. "When you're there, sometimes it takes two light changes to get onto the freeway."
For another Mililani Mauka resident who drives to Honolulu occasionally, the merging of the mauka and town traffic can be hairy at times.
"It's a bit scary," said Pamela Young, a city accounting section supervisor. "I try to drive slowly and cautiously."
Project manager Carol Lilley of Castle & Cooke said the improvements are designed to alleviate the congestion and improve safety.
The major change will be the creation of a new looped on-ramp.
Mililani Mauka drivers will be able stay in the far right lane to get on the loop and then the freeway. Gone will be the days of turning left at the light.
As a result, Mililani town traffic will not have to share the on-ramp with mauka traffic, alleviating the safety concerns, Lilley said.
Also, because there will no longer be a need for mauka traffic to turn left on to the freeway, the section of the on-ramp from which the mauka traffic merged with the town traffic will be demolished, Lilley said.
Another change will be that the Wahiawa-to-Mililani town offramp will be moved slightly to make room for the loop, Lilley said.
Construction will also take place on H-2 itself, below the Meheula Parkway overpass, with the widening of the freeway to accommodate the new mauka on-ramp, Lilley said.
Although 99 percent of the work will occur on the Mililani Town side of the H-2 freeway, there will be some sign and striping changes occurring on the mauka side, Lilley said.
In terms of cost, "this is an innovative finance project," state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali said.
Castle & Cooke, the developer of Mililani, as part of a land use condition, is paying for 20 percent of the construction, while the federal government is paying for the remaining 80 percent. Castle & Cooke then will have 10 years to repay the federal funding.
The DOT said work will include constructing a drainage system and retaining-wall system, paving, installing highway lighting, traffic signals, concrete barriers, curbs, gutters sidewalks, wheelchair ramps, guardrails and pavement markings.
The contractor is Kiewit Pacific Co.
