Department of Transportation

24/7 Closure to begin on Highway 11 at Mile Marker 29.3 on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018, additional work to follow at Mile Markers 28.7 and, 29.1,.

VOLCANO – The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) continues emergency repairs to Mamalahoa Highway (Route 11) in Volcano following the seismic activity associated with the activity at the lower East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano. A 24-hour single lane restriction is scheduled to address surface repairs on Mamalahoa Highway at Mile Marker 29.3.

This single lane restriction with contraflow to allow the flow of traffic in both directions will begin Tuesday, Dec. 11 in the eastbound lane and continue through Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. On Saturday, Dec. 15, the work will move on to the westbound lane. HDOT anticipates the 24-hour single lane restriction will be in place at this location through Wednesday, Dec. 19. All work is weather permitting; however, the closure will remain in place until the asphalt layer has been installed.

Between April 30 to August 4, 2018, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded approximately 60,000 earthquakes—with 4,400 of those earthquakes measured at a magnitude of 3 or greater and the largest measuring at moment magnitude of 6.9.[1] The seismic activity contributed to the formation of rifts under Mamalahoa Highway (Route 11) near the entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park between Mile Markers 28 and 30.

From July 6 to present, HDOT has repaired subsurface voids at Mile Markers 28.7, 30.05, 30.1, 30.6, and 31.7 along with embankment repair at Mile Marker 30, and has planned repairs at Mile Markers 28.7, 29.1 and  29.3. Ground truthing tests, including boring and camera reconnaissance, and ground penetrating radar, were used to determine the size and depth of the subsurface voids prior to beginning repairs. This portion of Highway 11 will continue to be monitored by HDOT using cameras at https://ops.punatraffic.com/

Photos of the subsurface void at Mile Marker 28, the sinkhole at Mile Marker 30, a photo of the embankment repair at Mile Marker 30 and completed repairs at Mile Marker 30.1 can be viewed here.

HDOT closures for roadwork are posted on the HDOT webpage at https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/roadwork/hawaii/ on Thursdays and Fridays. Traffic advisories and notices are distributed via the Department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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[1] Preliminary summary of Kilauea Volcano’s 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse. https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/file_mngr/file-192/PrelimSum_LERZ-Summit_2018.pdf