H-1 study may take more time
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
The state is considering extending the demonstration period for a project that closes a busy on-ramp on the H-1 Freeway during morning rush hour, transportation officials said yesterday.
What: The state Transportation Department will hold a meeting to update residents on the H-1 Freeway Lunalilo on-ramp demonstration project. When: 7 to 8:30 p.m. today Where: Hawaiian Mission Academy chapel, 1438 Pensacola St.
Preliminary reports show the closing of the Lunalilo Street on-ramp has had a positive impact on both freeway and some local traffic, Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.
Public meeting
However, engineers would like more time to fairly evaluate the project's results.
"We'd like to extend it to gather more data, but the director promised he'd listen to the community" before a decision is made, Ishikawa said.
Transportation Director Rod Haraga will update residents on the project in a meeting tonight at Hawaiian Mission Academy. Members of the community are invited to express their opinions at that time, Ishikawa said.
Originally, the state had hoped to evaluate the project, which began Aug. 9, after three months and determine whether to make the change permanent.
But several nearby traffic projects began unexpectedly about the same time, which could affect the results of any evaluation, Ishikawa said.
Those included an emergency sewer pipe replacement project on Kapi'olani Boulevard that forced cancellation of the morning rush-hour contraflow lane there and a waterline project near Royal School on Punchbowl Street.
Both of those projects could have directly affected how many people used the freeway or alternate routes. The closing of the Kapi'olani contraflow lane, for instance, could have added an extra 1,000 cars per hour on the freeway, Ishikawa said.
Even so, preliminary data based on phone calls, e-mails and several drives through the area before and after the project began indicate that drivers from East O'ahu are saving about 10 minutes during their morning commute, Ishikawa said.
More surprisingly, the same data show that some drivers trying to access the freeway from Makiki also are saving time.
"Before the change, it used to take an average of 9.2 minutes to travel from Pi'ikoi Street to the freeway's Queen Emma overpass via the Lunalilo Street on-ramp," Ishikawa said. "With the rerouting in place, the same distance is covered in an average of 4.5 minutes. Congestion on Pi'ikoi, Lunalilo and Pensacola streets has cleared because of the project."
Closing the Lunalilo on-ramp between 6 and 9:30 a.m. on weekdays eliminated a crisscross of freeway-bound drivers merging with commuters leaving H-1 at the same spot via the Vineyard off-ramp. The hope was that would reduce a westbound freeway backlog that normally occurred in the area.
The change has not been done without some complaints from area residents, some of whom have said it has added to the time they spend on neighborhood streets before getting on the freeway, especially at the Punahou Street on-ramp.
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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