KANE'OHE — Trees, native plants and vines will soon soften the harsh concrete canyon along Kahekili Highway as the state begins a long-awaited $4.08 million beautification project that will take most of the year to complete.

Crews were out Tuesday, restriping the road and removing one lane of traffic on a segment of the highway to make room for temporary concrete barriers that will protect workers from vehicles. The lane will be restored once the project is finished, said Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

The plan calls for 19 vine planters along the walls on both sides of the highway and two large median planters between Kulukeoe Street and Kea'ahala Road and between Kahuhipa Street and Ha'iku Road.

Creeping fig vines will grace the walls and native Hawaiian plants will line the medians, Ishikawa said, adding that the plants haven't been selected yet.

"We know it's going to be native plants, but our department landscape architect wants to make sure that whatever goes in is resilient, doesn't die in six months," he said.

Residents started calling for landscaping on the highway soon after the Kahekili road widening project began in 1995. The $27.2 million expansion created a stark, six-lane, concrete-lined corridor that efficiently funnels traffic through Kane'ohe and out to Kahalu'u but destroyed the country atmosphere, people said.

The state had made several attempts to soften the concrete landscape, planting vines along portions of the wall and seeding the wall next to the Kane'ohe District Park with ferns. Some of the plantings survived.

State officials admitted in 1997 — shortly after the widening was completed — that it had been a mistake to design such a barren highway. Still, it took four years before a beautification plan was presented to the community. At the time, that plan was to cost $2.5 million.

Phillip Mowrey, who headed a committee in 2001 that was to provide input on the project, said he was glad that something was finally being done.

However, he said the community had wanted more because not only was the road ugly, it encouraged speeding with its wide-open lanes.

"I wanted them to narrow it down and provide more accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists," Mowrey said, adding that covered benches for bus riders were also requested. "I see these people who are waiting for their mass transit, the bus ... and everybody is standing there in the rain pushed against the wall on that very narrow sidewalk and they wonder why people don't take the bus."

Such elements are not part of the present project.

The project stalled when the contractor realized that utilities were in the road where the planters were proposed, Ishikawa said. The project was redesigned, adding to the cost. But work stalled again when the state was unwilling to close one lane of the highway 24/7 during construction as the contractor had requested.

To keep all the lanes open, the state had to develop a traffic plan that also increased costs.

The cost of the beautification project now stands at $4.08 million. The barrier placement and striping should take between two and three weeks, then the crew will begin work on the median, Ishikawa said.

Work is expected to be completed in December.

"This project has been discussed by the community for a while," Ishikawa said. "It's nice to see this one is finally on the way."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.