Queen Kaahumanu Highway widening project on pace for Aug. finish — if not sooner

KAILUA-KONA — The Queen Kaahumanu Highway widening project may actually finish ahead of its most recently revised schedule, a Hawaii Department of Transportation official said Wednesday afternoon.

At a meeting devoted to updating community members on county, state and nonprofit development projects in West Hawaii, Hawaii District Engineer Don Smith, of the DOT’s Highways Division, said the project was on track to finish up by summer’s end.

“We will be substantially complete … in August,” Smith said. “All four lanes of traffic will be open.”

“I actually think we’ll beat that (by) just a little bit,” he continued. “But right now, let’s just stick with the end of August.”

Right turning lanes are also set for completion in August, the department said, at the intersection of Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kawaihae Road.

The turning lanes, meant to improve safety, will be set adjacent to Kawaihae Road’s eastbound approach to the intersection and Queen Kaahumanu Highway’s northbound approach lane.

Smith said workers began construction there as of Monday.

“You’ll start seeing some more work over the next couple of weeks,” he added.

In the meantime, departmental priorities will be on “safety and preservation.”

DOT has identified six ahupuaa boundaries within project limits. The department intends to demarcate them with the traditional brown, rectangular signs seen across Hawaii listing the specific ahupuaa names and depicting the graphic of the familiar rock formation.

Extra safety measures, Smith explained, will come in the form of restriping the highway all the way north to the intersection with Kawaihae Road, as well as the addition of rumble strips to alert motorists when they’ve drifted across lanes.

DOT expects to complete this portion of the project within the next month.

Pedestrian safety has also been a concern since the project began, as several walkers and cyclists have died because of collisions with vehicles inside active construction zones.

Since arriving in June, Smith has worked with Tina Clothier, executive director of People’s Advocacy for Trails Hawaii (PATH), to identify issues to mitigate the risks of non-vehicular travel in the often crowded and sometimes confusing constructions zones.

Smith said changes to construction sequencing, or shifts in what work is being done and where, adds a variable that makes construction zones more dangerous to those on foot or riding bicycles.

“We’ve been trying to be proactive and reach out to that community and identify those,” Smith said.

Clothier said Smith’s efforts have been helpful because while the DOT website notes project details and changes, there isn’t always enough information to help the regulars within the recreational cycling community adjust.

“That doesn’t necessarily reach our commuters who use the road by bike, but we do try and at least get the coconut wireless going by posting it on Facebook pages, and consequently it goes on our website, too,” Clothier added.

PATH has also taken a proactive approach with the DOT to address the intersection at Honokohau Harbor, where she said a couple of pedestrian crashes have occurred. The idea isn’t to add lights but to make them brighter and help motorists recognize when someone is crossing the road.

“We have a light restriction because of the telescopes,” Clothier explained, “but the down lights I think we can make brighter in some cases.”