Department of Transportation

LIHUE – The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) is updating the public on the status of Kuhio Highway (Route 560) past Waipa Bridge following the rockfall at Hanalei Hill on May 4, 2019. As of May 10, HDOT is targeting Thursday, June 13 for the full opening of Kuhio Highway past Waipa Bridge.

On April 30, HDOT announced that the full opening of the road would be the week of May 20; however, HDOT is putting resources towards the emergency slope stabilization on Kuhio Highway at mile marker 1 (the hill approaching Hanalei Bridge) and will be moving the opening of the road to Wainiha and Haena to a later date.

The Lihue bound lane of Kuhio Highway at mile marker 1, which is approximately three miles before Waipa Bridge, will remain closed throughout the slope stabilization. The slope stabilization is anticipated to be completed in Fall.

Intermittent closure of the road in both directions for 30-45-minute periods will occur during rock scaling operations. To mitigate delays to the public, crews will do the scaling at the top of the hour and will flush traffic in both directions with flagmen. These stoppages are expected on May 14 between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Additional rock scaling work may be needed after May 14 and will be announced via HDOT’s weekly lane closure notices available at https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/roadwork/kauai/

“Maintaining access to Haena and Hanalei for our residents and visitors is an important task,” said Governor David Ige. “We are grateful for the $77 million in federal assistance to rebuild the road following the April 2018 floods and are confident that the finished product will be safe and resilient to future events.”

Currently limited local access to Kuhio Highway past Waipa Bridge is available for vehicles with county issued placards in both directions Monday through Saturday on the following schedule:

• 5:30 a.m. – 8:20 a.m.
• 12:45 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
• 5 p.m. – 11 p.m. (unless bridge night work is scheduled)

Sunday/Holiday access is between 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. (unless there is a full weekend closure).

The public is reminded that Haena State Park, Haena Beach Park, and the Limahuli Garden and Preserve all remain closed. Information on these attractions can be found at https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/kauai/haena-state-park and https://ntbg.org/gardens/limahuli

Information on the County’s rules regarding placards can be found on their flood page at https://www.kauai.gov/Government/Departments-Agencies/Emergency-Management-Agency-formerly-Civil-Defense/April-2018-Flooding

More information on the remaining work on Kuhio Highway is available at https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/2018-kuhio-highway-emergency-repairs/

The public can also sign up for weekly updates on the Hanalei Hill slope stabilization and the Waipa and Waikoko Bridge work here.

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