Nimitz contraflow lane still set to open Sept. 29
| • | Map: Nimits Highway contraflow |
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
Bus strike or not, the much-anticipated Nimitz Highway contraflow project will start in two weeks.
The contraflow lane, designed to aid traffic flow in the heavily congested H-1/Nimitz Highway corridor during the morning rush hour, will be opened for traffic Sept. 29 as originally planned, state Transportation Department officials said yesterday.
Department officials had considered delaying the project until they could be sure O'ahu's bus strike would be over. Instead, they decided that the needs of Honolulu's drivers outweighed any potential problems that might be caused by the strike.
"We're in the business of alleviating traffic and that's what we want to do," DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.
The contraflow project will add an extra townbound lane from Ke'ehi Interchange to Pier 32, near Hilo Hattie's on Nimitz Highway, a stretch of road that usually handles 3,700 vehicles per hour in the morning rush.
Transportation officials had worried that starting the contraflow project during a bus strike, when extra cars are on the road, could cause some traffic problems and skew the results of what is expected to be a four-month trial period. If the program runs smoothly, the contraflow lane likely will be made permanent, Ishikawa said.
"It's really going to be tested right away because of all the extra cars," he said.
Vehicles with two or more occupants will be able to enter the contraflow lane just past the Ke'ehi Interchange, where traffic on Nimitz Highway starts to back up each morning. The coning of one 'ewa-bound lane will create four town-bound lanes of traffic instead of the usual three.
Ishikawa said the new process may take some getting used to, however.
"It's a little more tricky than the freeway zipper lane," he said, noting that at one point drivers in the lane will have to dogleg back onto the right side of the highway to pass the Sand Island intersection.
Left turns are another potential problem.
Drivers using the contraflow lane will not be allowed to make mauka-bound left turns. Instead, drivers wanting to turn left can do so from the regular left-turn lane at selected intersections. DOT officials said that's likely to create some confusion in the early days of the program.
Ishikawa said the bus strike has not forced any other changes or delays in state highway construction projects.
"We've just reminded all our contractors that they aren't supposed to start work before 8:30 in the morning," he said.
City officials have restricted construction work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the duration of the strike.
Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.
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