TRAFFIC: Hawaii traffic flow project put on hold

Work has suddenly stopped on a Hawaii Department of Transportation (HIDOT) project that would create a reversible “ZipperLane” on the H-1 Freeway to ease afternoon congestion. A statement from HIDOT Director Glenn Okimoto said that state is working with the Federal Highway Administration to find alternate designs and keep the project on budget.

The agency broke ground on the $82 million PM Contraflow Project in June 2012, with the idea to create a reversible ZipperLane on the westbound H-1 Freeway identical to the one already in place on the eastbound side.

In the meantime, evening surface work has led to traffic delays and slowed the project down, which experts say has cost taxpayers several million dollars already.

The PM Contraflow Project has been in the pipeline for more than a decade, according to lawmakers, and Hawaii residents were told it would be completed by 2014.

Computer simulations show that the PM ZipperLane could improve freeway capacity by as much as 15%.