Wilson Tunnel
closures on way

Likelike Highway commuters beware: Another month-long closure of the Wilson Tunnels is coming up.

Beginning Sept. 6, crew members are expected to begin pouring a new layer of concrete in the Honolulu-bound tunnel. Work should be completed by Oct. 6.

Rod Haraga, Department of Transportation director, said a contra-flow lane will be set up on weekdays through the Kaneohe-bound tunnel -- between 4 a.m. and noon -- to allow Windward residents to commute into town. Drivers heading to the Windward side during these hours are being asked to use Pali Highway or the H-3 freeway.

Kaneohe-bound residents will be able to trek back to the Windward side on Likelike Highway from 1 p.m. to 3 a.m. and on weekends.

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About 30,000 motorists drive through the Wilson Tunnels daily.

Transportation officials closed the Kaneohe-bound tunnel from July 5 to Aug. 5 for similar repair work.

In the Kaneohe-bound tunnel, workers fixed leaks and cracks, replaced the ventilation equipment and repaved the roadway with a new layer of concrete.

"We roughened the surface so we have better traction, but folks have got to learn to slow down through the tunnels," Haraga said, noting the posted 35-mph speed limit.

"If you drive 55 miles per hour, no matter what we do to the pavement, it's going to be a problem," he added.

Workers also installed better lighting, improved the drainage system and installed ceramic tiles that are supposed to be easier to clean.

Similar work will also be done to the town-bound tunnel. Ceramic tile work is almost completed, Haraga said. During the tunnel closure, workers will pour enough concrete to nearly cover two football fields, spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.

The $13.8 million project started in the spring of last year and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

Major renovations to the tunnels were last done in 1979. Nineteen years later the city transferred management and maintenance of the Wilson Tunnels, which were built in the late 1950s, to the state.

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Likelike contra-flows scheduled The Honolulu-bound tunnel of the Wilson Tunnels on Likelike Highway will be closed 24 hours a day for concrete resurfacing work from Sept. 6 to Oct. 6. » Windward residents heading into Honolulu during weekday mornings will be contra-flowed through the Kaneohe-bound tunnel between 4 a.m. and noon. Windward-bound motorists will need to use Pali Highway or the H-3 freeway during the morning contra-flow. » The Kaneohe-bound tunnel will be open to Windward-bound traffic between 1 p.m. and 3 a.m. during weekdays and 24 hours a day on weekends.