Emergency sewer work diverts traffic

Advertiser Staff

Kayak renters make their way to Kailua Beach Park through a maze of construction work related to sewer repairs along Kailua Road. Access to several businesses has been blocked by the work.

The project, near the Kailua Beach Center, has sparked lane closures that are disrupting traffic flow to the beach and through Kailua Town. Lanikai-bound drivers on Kailua Road are being diverted through a nearby subdivision. Photos by Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

The project began Tuesday in front of Kailua Beach Center, blocking access and hurting business. The nearby intersection at South Kalaheo Avenue and Kailua Road is also closed, hindering not only access to the beach center but traffic flow to and from Kailua Town.

Meanwhile, signs prevent Kane'ohe-bound drivers on Kalaheo from detouring onto Ku'ukama Street, the next left past Kailua Road, while Lanikai-bound traffic is forced to turn onto the same street and wind back onto Kalaheo to reach the area beyond Kalapawai Market.

Carol Costa, city spokeswoman, said the traffic plan will minimize the number of cars flowing through the subdivision while providing safe working conditions for the repair crews.

Motorists can expect to detour again between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Monday, as construction dictates, Costa said.

The sewer project has increased traffic on Ku'ukama, but the new speed bumps in the subdivision are controlling speeders, according to Betty Hughes, a resident there. In the past, motorists using the area as a shortcut would speed, Hughes said.

The project is scheduled to end Sept. 18.