Department of Transportation

HONOLULU – The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) is finalizing repair plans for the section of Kamehameha Highway near Kaaawa that suffered damage due to high surf action on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016.

The repair work will begin Tuesday, March 1, 2016, and is expected to be complete within a week. To expedite repairs, crews will work from 7 am – 6 pm, daily.

The northbound or makai lane on Kamehameha Highway near Kaaawa Valley Road and Kanenelu Beach in Kaaawa will remain closed 24 hours a day. Traffic will continue to be contraflowed in the southbound or mauka lane, with flaggers on location 24 hours a day to assist with traffic flow, until the repairs are finished.

The area damaged on February 27 is approximately 100 feet south of the area repaired by HDOT earlier this month. Those repairs were completed ahead of schedule and were done within a week.

The public is urged to drive with caution in the area. A police officer or flagger will direct traffic throughout the single lane closure. Priority will be granted to emergency vehicles. Drivers are asked to avoid the area if possible. For the duration of the repair work, those on Oahu’s windward side or the North Shore may want to consider going through Honolulu and Wahiawa to reach their destination.

Crews will remove the damaged asphalt and guardrail, fill the area with controlled low strength material (CLSM), install a new guardrail and repave the roadway. The work is estimated to be finished within a week. Immediate repairs will allow the road to be protected from further erosion and enable two-way traffic to be restored right away, while HDOT continues to work on the long term improvements.

Long term plans for Kamehameha Highway in Windward Oahu include protection of areas of Kamehameha Highway along the Kaaawa, Hauula and Punaluu shorelines. HDOT is coordinating with Federal, State, and County partners to ensure the necessary steps in the permitting process are followed, and that the project development includes community input. HDOT will expedite the project development timeline targeted to start next year.

HDOT is committed to improving the resiliency of Hawaii’s coastal assets through projects such as the protection of areas of Kamehameha Highway, and through interagency examination of regulation setbacks and other mitigation measures.

HDOT continues to address the long term effects of sea level rise on infrastructure through its membership on the Hawaii Interagency Climate Adaptation Committee. The Committee is working to produce a framework for Statewide adaptation measures to climate change and sea level rise. These discussions and measures will also be considered in project development for Hawaii’s coastal roadways. More information on the Hawaii Interagency Climate Adaptation Committee can be found at https://climateadaptation.hawaii.gov/

Prior to travel in the area, HDOT recommends visiting traffic/mapping applications or websites, including GoAkamai.org, for estimated drive times. Travelers can also monitor HDOT updates on Twitter @DOTHawaii or on Facebook by following the Hawaii Department of Transportation.

Weekly lane closure information will be posted at the HDOT website at https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/roadwork/oahu

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