Kuhio Highway North Of Hanalei Will Be Closed Until October

• Cost estimate for the emergency flood repairs on Kuhio Highway and the upgrade of three bridges is $80 million.
• Work will continue on a six day a week, 10-hour a day schedule for the near future. Work will not be completed until October.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation reports:

The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) has advertised an emergency contract for additional Kuhio Highway Emergency Flood Repairs and will be awarding the contract shortly. The contract includes work to stabilize the slope above Kuhio Highway (Route 560) between Waikoko and Wainiha and various downslope sites on Kuhio Highway.

Work will continue on a six day a week, 10-hour a day schedule for the near future. Limited local access utilizing the convoy system will continue until the work is completed in October. Currently there two crews installing soil nail and shotcrete anchor structures at the two makai slopes at Waikoko and Wainiha where the roadway structure was washed out. Once the contract for emergency repairs is awarded, an additional crew will be working on the Wainiha Mauka Slope and at various sites where the makai slope was compromised.

A separate contract for the update of the Waikoko, Waipa, and Waioli bridges (the 3W bridges) will be awarded as the environmental documentation for that project is completed. The bridge upgrades are necessary to expedite the recovery efforts on Kuhio Highway as the existing structures are load restricted to 8 tons. This severely limits the amount of landslide and other debris that can be removed from the area. The upgraded bridges will be rated to 16 tons with emergency capacity of 25 tons.

The revised cost estimate for the emergency flood repairs on Kuhio Highway and the upgrade of the 3Ws is $80 million. The majority of costs for the Kuhio Highway emergency flood repairs is expected to be eligible for reimbursement through the Federal Highways Administration’s Emergency Relief program.

HDOT initially planned to conduct the bridge work at night but will modify the schedule in response to noise concerns from the public.