Posted on: Saturday, December 8, 2001

Marathon to close roads in East Honolulu

• Sunday's Honolulu Marathon route map

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

They're here. They're fast. They're zoned out into some marathon runner's never-never land of mental states, and tomorrow morning they'll be darting around the streets of Honolulu from downtown to Hawai'i Kai.

Yup, time again for the Honolulu Marathon and the annual closing of the streets.

To prevent turning one of Honolulu's best-known tourism events into a calamity, police will block or curtail the following thoroughfares tomorrow:

• Ala Moana from Atkinson Drive to Ward Avenue, 12:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

• H-1 Freeway in both directions from the 22nd Avenue/ Wai'alae Avenue off-ramp to 'Ainakoa Avenue, 3:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

• Kalakaua Avenue's mauka lanes between Monsarrat Avenue and Poni Mo'i Road, 4:30 a.m. until the marathon ends; the makai lanes will be contra-flowed for two-way traffic at about 9 a.m., limited to residents only entering via Kapahulu Avenue.

• Monsarrat Avenue from Kalakaua to Paki avenues, 4:45 a.m. until runners clear the area.

• Paki Avenue from Monsarrat to Kalakaua, from 4:30 a.m. until the marathon is over. Access to the Diamond Head tennis courts for local traffic only from 9 a.m.

• Diamond Head Road and Kahala and Keala'olu avenues will be controlled by police, based on the number of runners in the area. Watch for signs.

• 18th Avenue from Diamond Head Road to Kilauea Avenue, until runners clear the area. Traffic will be detoured at Diamond Head Road and Makapu'u Avenue. Federal Aviation Administration and National Guard personnel only will have access to Diamond Head Crater.

• Kilauea Avenue from 18th to Wai'alae avenues eastbound, from 4 a.m. until runners clear the area. Traffic will be two-way westbound. Traffic exiting into lower Kahala must cross Kilauea at Hunakai Street.

• Kalaniana'ole Highway from 'Ainakoa Street to Hawai'i Kai Drive (makai side), from 4 a.m.; two-way traffic in the mauka lanes.

• Hawai'i Kai Drive's makai lanes from Kalaniana'ole Highway to Keahole Street, from about 4 a.m. until the area is clear; two-way traffic along the mauka side.

• Kalaniana'ole Highway from Hawai'i Kai Drive to Keahole Street, from 4 a.m. until the area is clear of runners. Traffic will be detoured onto Hawai'i Kai Drive via Kawaihae to Lunalilo Home Road. Boat ramp traffic must enter from the kokohead end.

• Keahole Street's makai-bound lanes, from 4 a.m. until the area is clear; traffic will be two-way in the mauka lanes. Access to Costco and the Hawai'i Kai Shopping Center will be permitted.

• Keala'olu Avenue from Wai'alae to Kahala avenues, from the time the first runner reaches the area until it is clear. Officers may permit some local traffic at 'Aukai Avenue and access to Kahala Towers, Kahala Mandarian Oriental Hotel and Waialae Country Club via 'Aukai Avenue and Pueo Street.

Some bus routes will be canceled or detoured. Call TheBus at 848-5555.

For traffic details, call the marathon office at 921-2323 before 5 p.m. today.