- Variance obtained from the Department of Health,
State of Hawaii
- To allow night and weekend construction
- Reasons:
- Minimize traffic disruptions
- Shorten completion time
- Work hours above the viaduct:
- 24-hours (weekdays and weekends)
- Work hours below the viaduct:
- Not permitted during evenings or weekends
- Weekend and night construction confined to the freeway
and ramp areas
- No night and weekend construction planned in Waimalu
Gardens
- Restricted construction at night
- Use drilled piers instead of driven piles
- Disable back-up alarms
- Better steel plate installation
- Quieter construction practices:
- Locate equipment as far as possible
- Equipment mufflers
- Well-maintained equipment
- H-1 partial & full closures in both directions
- Pearl City ramp partial closures
- Moanalua Road partial closures at H-1
- All freeway lanes open during rush hours
- A.M. zipper lane operational
- Use widened portion
- Coordinate traffic signal timing on Kamehameha Highway
and Moanalua Road
The Department of Transportation
is conducting innovative scheduling measures as an incentive
to the contractor to complete the work quicker and keep
freeway lanes open.
 As
many commuters know, afternoon rush-hour traffic along
the H-1 often stretches from Pearl City all the way
back to Kalihi. To help relieve this bottleneck, the
State Department of Transportation (DOT) in June will
begin construction to add one new traffic lane and a
wider shoulder on the Ewa-bound side of the H-1 Freeway
from Kaonohi Street to the Pearl City off-ramp. When
completed, this $55 million project will help alleviate
traffic congestion by providing six lanes of freeway
traffic all the way to the Pearl City off-ramp.
In addition to the widening, portions
of the freeway in the Ewa-bound direction will be resurfaced
and improvements will be made to the Pearl City off-ramp.
Beneath the viaduct, several streets in the Waimalu
Gardens neighborhood will also be repaved, along with
utility improvements.
Because this is a large project that
affects many people, DOT is offering incentives to the
contractor, Kiewit Pacific Co., to finish ahead of schedule,
while levying penalties for excessive lane closures.
These measures will help ensure that the project will
be finished on time with as little disruption as possible.
To help keep traffic disruption to
a minimum, all freeway lanes will be open during morning
and afternoon rush hours unless there is an unforeseen
emergency, and the morning H-1 zipper lane will remain
operational. In addition, the Department of Transportation
will be working with the city to improve
traffic mobility along Kamehameha Highway and Moanalua
Road during freeway lane closures.
While the freeway widening will provide significant
benefits once it is completed, we realize that construction
will cause some temporary impacts that motorists need
to be aware of. Information on lane closures will be
posted on electronic message signs and provided to radio
stations from the city’s traffic control center.
Much of the construction along the
freeway will be done at night to minimize the impact
on commuters. But because many people live near the
construction area, and nighttime noise must be kept
to a minimum, work beneath the viaduct in the Waimalu
Gardens neighborhood will be done only on weekdays from
7 a.m. to 6 p.m. No night or weekend work is planned
in the Waimalu neighborhood.
DOT is committed to giving the public
timely and accurate information about the project. Call
the hotline, visit the Web site or attend monthly task
force meetings to learn about the project’s status.
Hotline: 587-6316.
This hotline will be staffed during construction hours.
At other times, callers will be able to
get current information on lane closures and construction
hours.
DOT Public Affairs Office:
587-2160.
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