Mililani drivers say they are growing increasingly frustrated with the state's $16.2 million repaving of H-2 Freeway that is scheduled to run through Christmas.

Lane closures and even the shutdown of entire freeway on- and off-ramps have been causing angst for motorists since the project began in April. Last weekend, traffic got so bad in the vicinity of the Mililani Interchange that it took motorists 40 minutes to get from the Mililani Mauka side to the town side, typically a 10- to 15-minute drive.

The closures and detours aren't over, however, and Department of Transportation officials are asking Mililani drivers to prepare for more twists and turns this weekend, as well as a few more after that.

This weekend's work will mostly affect those heading into Mililani Town and Mililani Mauka on H-2 Freeway from the Wahiawa and North Shore side.

The Honolulu-bound (southbound) off-ramp into Mililani and Mililani Mauka will be completely shut down from 8:30 a.m. today to 4 a.m. Monday. Lanes along Meheula Parkway will also be shut down at the same time.

This weekend's work comes on the heels of last week's project, which shut down the Honolulu-bound H-2 on-ramp from Mililani Mauka and the closure of one of the two Meheula Parkway lanes leading onto the freeway coming from Mililani Town.

The backup at the Mililani interchange caused by that work was so bad that Mililani Mauka resident Ron Torngren said it took him and other motorists 40 minutes to go from Mililani Mauka into Mililani Town last Saturday.

Other motorists trying to get onto H-2 going Honolulu-bound headed north toward Wahiawa on H-2 to the Leilehua Golf Course exit, about a mile, and then doubled back onto H-2 south-bound. The only other option was to head into a choke point at Meheula Parkway and make a U-turn to enter the freeway from the Mililani Town side.

"The whole project is just inefficient," Torngren said.

DOT spokeswoman Tammy Mori, acknowledging that the department got many complaints last week, said steps are being taken to avoid similar tie-ups this week.

Two unrelated road projects that had been scheduled this week along the Mililani stretch of Kamehameha Highway have been canceled. The highway is one of the alternate routes being suggested for Mililani drivers seeking to avoid the on-ramp.

Drivers coming from the Wahiawa side heading Honolulu-bound who were hoping to get off at the Mililani off-ramp to go to Mililani Town are being asked to get off earlier and use Kamehameha Highway, while those wanting to go to Mililani Mauka are being advised to go to the Ka Uka Boulevard exit and backtrack onto H-2 heading north.

DOT is also trying to step up notification. More electronic message boards are going up along the freeway. Meanwhile, DOT Director Brennon Morioka and Mori were to hold a site tour for news crews today in hopes they will broadcast this week's roadwork.

State Rep. Marilyn Lee, D-38th (Mililani, Mililani Mauka), said her office has also received numerous complaints. Lee said she believes DOT officials forget that some 50,000 people live in the area.

During the election season, Lee said, she's holding signs from 5 to 6:45 a.m. and has counted more than 2,700 cars trying to get onto the freeway during that period.

"I have lots of frustrated constituents who can't understand why the work seems to be uncoordinated, taking place during traffic times and taking forever," she said.

Off-duty police were called in to direct traffic last week and additional ones will be in place this week, Mori said.

The DOT has been trying to get the work done with as little disruption as possible, she said.

Because of the type of work, 24-hour shutdowns are required, and the DOT believes such work would be less of an inconvenience on weekend to avoid weekday rush-hour traffic, Mori said.

"We're doing big sections of the road just because it's more efficient and faster. It's not just a repaving project," Mori said. "We're ripping out the existing road, and then laying down new base, and then laying new asphalt on top."

Mori said that in the next two months, when the project is scheduled to finish, there will be four other 24-hour closures tied to the project.

A substantial portion of the project that began in late March is already completed and Kiewit Pacific, the contractor, is ahead of schedule, Mori said. The entire project is slated to be completed around Christmas.

Work on three of the four Waipi'o Interchange ramps is done, and the Honolulu-bound on-ramp at the Mililani Interchange has a new surface that is nearly done, Mori said.

The Kipapa Stream Bridge, on both Wahiawa- and Honolulu-bound sides, has also already been resurfaced, and four of the 11 phases of Meheula Parkway resurfacing is done, with the rest scheduled to be done in the next several weeks, she said.

Dean Hazama, chairman of the Mililani Mauka Neighborhood Board, said members were notified about the construction months ago, but that there has been little follow-up in terms of the week-to-week developments.

"The main concern that we've been hearing from our side is why it's been taking so long to finish the mauka off-ramp (going north-bound)," Hazama said. "It seems like that thing has been dug up, repaved and all of that, forever."

That's because the contractor is using as its sub-base on the off-ramp, recycled material comprised in part of asphalt being ground up from the Meheula Parkway work and has needed to go back to that work to get more, Mori said.

Motorists traveling in the area should listen to radio stations that broadcast traffic advisories for the latest updates, she said.