The state also announced plans today to extend the H-1 Freeway zipper lane from Pearl Harbor to the Ke'ehi Interchange to help speed up the morning commute.

State transportation director Rod Haraga said the contra-flow lane has cut commuter travel time between 10 and 20 minutes and increased the number of cars using the lane by between 900 and 1,000 vehicles.

"Of the 100 calls I’ve had about the project, only one call objected to the contra-flow," Haraga said. "We feel it is the right thing to do."

Some Kalihi residents had opposed the project because of concerns it would limit access to businesses.

The contra-flow lane on Nimitz Highway creates a fourth lane of town-bound traffic from Ke'ehi Lagoon to downtown from 5:30 to 8:30 a.m., but no left turns are allowed between Pu'uhale Road and Pacific Street.

Haraga said a survey of businesses along the route and a presentation to the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board this week found support for the project.

Haraga said the state now plans to extend the H-1 Freeway morning zipper lane from Pearl Harbor to the Ke'ehi Interchange by the end of the year and connect it directly to a contra-flow lane to save commuters even more time.

The zipper lane now ends just before the airport and would be extended 2.7 miles to the Ke'ehi interchange, where H-1 turns into Nimitz Highway.

The $4.4 million project will be paid for with 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent by the state.