Work on lane will shut part of Kailua Road
State transportation officials will close one Honolulu-bound lane of Kailua Road tomorrow to begin pavement work on a temporary second lane.
Royal Contracting Co. will work on the stretch between Hamakua Drive and Hanale Place from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Motorists are advised to use caution while driving in the area.
The temporary second lane is being built to alleviate traffic congestion into Kailua. On April 3 the Department of Transportation shut down the lane closest to the hillside due to the threat of more landslides and overhanging rocks following persistent heavy rain.
Last week, workers from the Tree People uprooted about 25 loulu palm trees from the median on Kailua Road to make way for the second lane.
Foundation work on the temporary lane started earlier this week. Workers will put the final layer of asphalt tomorrow and re-stripe the lane sometime next week, said Scott Ishikawa, Department of Transportation spokesman.
"We'll open (the lane) up by the end of the month, if not sooner," he said.
Cost to construct the temporary second lane is estimated at $429,000.
The second lane will be converted back to a median once the state completes a rockfall mitigation project for the hillside slated to start in August and last through February.