Nimitz contra-flow
work starts Monday
Construction begins Monday night on a contra-flow project that could improve the morning commute on Nimitz Highway.
The far-left lanes in both directions of Nimitz Highway will be closed at night from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Hilo Hattie's to the Weyerhaeuser building while construction crews build openings in the median that will allow motorists to cross over to the contra-flow lane and merge back into the town-bound lanes.
The lanes will also be closed tomorrow morning so survey crews can prepare for construction. The left Ewa-bound lane from Sand Island Access Road to the Keehi interchange also will be closed tomorrow from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. for survey work.
The contra-flow project will create an extra town-bound lane and extend the existing high-occupancy vehicle lane from the Keehi Interchange/Middle Street area to Pier 32 near Hilo Hattie's.
"We're hoping it's going to ease traffic congestion in that bottleneck from Sand Island to downtown," said state Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.
The $1 million project to build crossover lanes in four locations on Nimitz Highway is expected to be completed by late September.
Motorists who carpool then will be able to use an Ewa-bound lane on Nimitz, which will become a town-bound lane from 5:30 to 8:30 a.m.
Businesses in Kalihi Kai, makai of Nimitz Highway, have raised concerns about increased traffic on the narrow streets and a ban on left-hand turns from Ewa-bound lanes in the morning, except for the turn onto Sand Island Access Road.
But left-hand turns are now restricted on Mokauea Street and Puuhale Road during the morning, and businesses have adjusted to that change or moved out of the area.
The contra-flow will continue for four months, and the state will then evaluate how it went. If the project is successful, the state hopes to extend the contra-flow to where the ZipLane now ends on the H-1 freeway.
