Queen Kaahumanu Highway construction project to resume

KAILUA-KONA — Thousands of motorists on Queen Kaahumanu Highway who watched rapid progression of the highway’s widening project are likely wondering why they’ve seen lines of earthmovers parked during the past couple of weeks.

The project indeed ran into a slowdown, the contractor and state Department of Transportation confirmed Wednesday.

The delay is the result of waiting for the state to sign off on a redesign of a southerly portion of the roadway.

The design was changed to avoid historical sites at the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. The change required a shrinking of the median and placement of a retaining wall.

While the redesign was in the works for some time, the necessary approvals have lagged.

The issues surrounding the design approvals were resolved and Goodfellow Bros. Inc. is on track to resume installing temporary traffic signals April 4, project manager Ed Brown said. He is working with the state on ways to make up time lost since the slowdown began March 18.

“We’ve been working closely with the state to get these issues resolved — quickly,” Brown said.

Work on traffic signals, culvert head walls, drainage wells, sewer lines and street lights will follow as soon as the contractor can obtain the necessary material, according to Goodfellow. The slowdown isn’t expected to affect the planned September 2017 completion date for the $100 million widening project.

Crews wrapped up the grubbing and mass grading on the 5.2 mile stretch in January, and worked on water, sewer and drainage infrastructure this past month.

The first stages of the job involve constructing the lanes on the makai side of the roadway, where new asphalt is expected to allow vehicle travel starting in August. The existing highway then will be resurfaced.

Final surfacing of the makai lanes is slated for May 2017.

Email Bret Yager at byager@westhawaiitoday.com.