Less than one month after its launch, the city's Web- and phone-based driver information program, dubbed Drive Akamai, is helping hundreds of O'ahu residents navigate traffic daily.

The $70,000 project is intended to provide drivers with information on lane closures and traffic caused by road and sewer construction work and show them the streets to avoid. The Web site and hot line are among the first results of an overall $400,000 contract aimed at easing Downtown traffic problems.

The information is updated daily, based on reports from the private companies or city crews actually performing the work.

"A static Web site and phone tree had to be developed because of all the construction (work)," said Richard Torres, deputy director of the Department of Transportation Services, referring to the first step of a multifaceted project awarded to Austin, Tsutsumi & Associates.

Currently, there are 18 to 20 construction projects under way in these areas, ranging from a three-day job on Queen Street to the 24/7 sewer project down Kapi'olani Boulevard.

Within a week of its launch on July 5, the Web site had received more than 5,000 hits and the hot line more than 1,000 calls. Claude Matsuo, project manager, said the Web site now averages 200 to 300 hits a day, while the hot line receives an average of 150 calls a day.

Although the map and hot line encompass only Downtown Honolulu to Waikiki and H-1 — because these areas have the most construction — officials hope to eventually expand the program to include other traffic-heavy areas on O'ahu.

Residents and tourists alike can visit the Web site and see a map covering the area from Liliha Street to Kapahulu Avenue and the H-1 Freeway to south shore.

Below the map with colored numbers and letters is a table detailing the construction work taking place in the respective areas. It includes the type of work and the days and times when construction crews are present. However, it does not include traffic accidents or other emergencies.

Torres said that while the Drive Akamai Web site is currently static, city officials working on the project hope to make it interactive within 90 days, allowing viewers to click on points of the map for updated information.

"It will include live information in regard to specific areas," Torres said. People will also be able to e-mail comments.

The traffic advisory hot line is an automated service providing daily updated information within the map area. The caller chooses a selected street or intersection from a list of eight and hits the corresponding number to hear the latest construction information.

Torres said the city tried to make the number "as easy as possible" to remember. He added that when the Web site becomes interactive, another digit will be added to the automated phone list, allowing callers to leave comments.

"Basically there are two major components of this contract," Matsuo said. "One is traffic management planning and the second is public notification, which is what the Web site and hot line fall under."

Matsuo said every morning the respective companies doing the construction work provide project personnel with updated information.

Austin, Tsutsumi & Associates representatives then go and survey each work site to verify the information.

"We do rely on city managers to provide construction work information, but we also have information from private contractors," Matsuo said.