After a month of free sailing through the Wilson Tunnel, Windward O'ahu residents will again have to dodge construction, but this time on the Honolulu-bound side.

The state Department of Transportation will close the town-bound tunnel for one month starting Sept. 6 for around-the-clock repairs similar to those completed on the opposite side last month.

"We did not have any problems when we closed the Kane'ohe-bound side and we suspect it will be the same," said Rod Haraga, state transportation director.

Morning town-bound traffic will be contraflowed through the Kane'ohe-bound tunnel from 4 a.m. to noon.

The Kane'ohe-bound side will be open to motorists between 1 p.m. and 3 a.m. weekdays and 24 hours on weekends. About 30,000 motorists make their way through the tunnel each day, according to DOT.

"The main objective is to get the Windward commuters into town in the morning and home in the afternoons," Haraga said.

Although the state has scheduled the closure to last exactly 30 days, Haraga said there is a chance the work could finish sooner. "Because the contractor is now familiar with the work and how it goes, it might go a little quicker," he said.

DOT officials chose to hold off this next round of renovations for a month because of the back-to-school jam, Haraga said. But Patty Yamashiro-Hironaka, secretary of the Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board, said the work was ill-timed.

"There's lots of traffic with school starting — they could have picked a better time," she said, adding that next month would have been better.

Yamashiro-Hironaka, 39, said that although the project may be an inconvenience, people should bear with it since the tunnel will be safer in the long run.

"It's only a month," she said.

Existing concrete pavement in the town-bound tunnel will be dug up and the road repaved; electrical wiring will be connected to new lighting; leaks and cracks will be filled in; and the ventilation system will be replaced. Most of the ceramic tiling for the tunnel walls has been installed, according to DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

The work will make for a brighter, safer tunnel, he said.

New grooved pavement will make for better traction, especially during rainy weather, and a new drainage system will allow water to flow to the sides of the road. Haraga said contractors also will seal off water leakage from the mountain.

While the final product will mean a much safer drive for tunnel users, Haraga said speeding in the tunnel continues to be a concern, especially in a year of record traffic fatalities.

"Folks have got to learn to slow down," Haraga said.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.