Traffic expected to spike as paddlers flock to Hilo

With the biggest canoe paddling event of the year kicking off in Hilo Bay on Saturday, downtown traffic is expected to peak this weekend as athletes and fans alike descend on the area.

Hilo is hosting the Hawaii Canoe Racing Association state paddling championships for the first time since 2009. More than 5,000 paddlers from 73 clubs are expected to attend the races, which begin Saturday morning and continue throughout the day.

Because the paddling associations will arrive in Hilo beforehand to set up, road closures begin this morning.

“It’s your regular closure, where they’re closing Bayfront at the canoe landing area,” said Hawaii Police Department Sgt. Robert Pauole, chief of the department’s Traffic Services Division.

Drivers still will be able to access Hawaii Belt Road (Highway 19).

The affected section of Bayfront will re-open Sunday.

Isemoto Contracting project engineer Jason Tagawa said there would be no construction crews on Kamehameha Avenue on Friday or during the weekend. Work will resume Monday, he said.

“The traffic pattern will remain the same,” Tagawa said. “Still two lanes.”

Roadwork on Kamehameha began in March 2014 and was delayed this year because of a rainy spring. The project is nearing completion, Tagawa said, although the road still needs to be striped.

Parking for the state championship races is free and located at Wailoa River State Park, past the Kamehameha statue. There will be no parking in the Bayfront lot area.

Aloha Mauhili, Moku O Hawaii association race secretary and treasurer, began securing permits and insurance in December. The Moku O Hawaii association championship is named for Mauhili’s mother, Aunty Maile, 81, who coordinated the state event the last time it was hosted in Hilo.

“I’m glad it’s coming back here,” Mauhili said.

Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.