Drive Time
Punahou Street off-ramp work nears
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
Construction to widen the H-1 Freeway Punahou Street off-ramp begins Sunday.
The eight-month, $2.7 million project will add a second right-turn off-ramp lane onto Punahou Street to ease traffic along the H-1 Freeway.
While state transportation officials say only one off-ramp lane will be closed during the work, commuters can expect traffic delays because the eastbound off-ramp is the most heavily used along H-1.
State transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali said the Pi'ikoi Street eastbound on-ramp will be shut down during the Punahou weekday construction to help alleviate bottlenecks.
There is no related construction work on Pi'ikoi, but with the two ramps so close together, transportation officials want to steer motorists away from the area altogether.
Q. What does the work call for?
A. The project includes an addition of a new 300-foot approaching lane and a right-turn lane exiting the off-ramp onto Punahou Street.
Crews will first demolish the cooling towers and incinerator building at Shriners Hospital. More than 1,000 feet of concrete barrier and wall will also be demolished and rebuilt alongside the added lanes.
New signs, lights, utilities, drainage, guardrails and sidewalks will also be installed.
Q. How can motorists avoid the construction area?
A. Motorists are advised to avoid the ramps between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Alternate routes include King Street and Kapi'olani Boulevard. Waikiki-bound traffic coming from the airport should use Nimitz Highway as an alternate route.
Q. How will traffic be affected?
A. Hawaiian Dredging will create a jersey barrier and do much of the construction work behind it. The state does not expect lane closures during the initial phase of construction, unless work is required that would create a safety hazard to motorists. During the latter part of the project, only one off-ramp lane will be closed at a time.
Q. At one point, the state considered shutting down both the H-1 Pi'ikoi and Ward on-ramps as part of the Punahou off-ramp work. Will that still happen?
A. While the Pi'ikoi on-ramp will be closed during construction, Kali said the state does not plan to close the Ward Avenue on-ramp.
Scott Ishikawa writes about transportation issues. You can call him at 525-8070 , write him at The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802 or e-mail sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.
