HONOLULU (KHON2) — Big changes are coming to Downtown Honolulu as the Rail project moves forward, and it could snarl traffic for years.
KHON2 found out what drivers, businesses and residents can expect.
Folks in the Downtown area are bracing for a major traffic shake-up. The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation started work on the City Center Guideway and Stations — it requires lane closures on Nimitz Highway between ‘Awa and Bishop streets, 24/7 until September, 2030.
HART Executive Director Lori Kahikina wanted to stress that it is not a complete shutdown.
“‘What do you mean, you guys are shutting down Nimitz?’ We’re not shutting down Nimitz! We’re shutting down one lane in each direction and the main reason for this is we’re actually going to be pushing the traffic more towards the outside. So, we’re using the median strip,” she said.
The lane closures on the major corridor are daunting for drivers. Detours will redirect traffic at intersections like ‘Awa Street and Nuuanu Avenue, King and Beretania streets are alternate routes. Some worry it will be a traffic nightmare.
“This is a very busy street; everybody uses this street. Yeah, so people that’s going home or coming back the other ways,” said Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board chair Ernest Caravalho.
Caravalho said he was initially shocked at the half-decade timeline.
“I was like, ‘Wow, are we kidding?’ But I understand it has to happen, yeah? HART has to do this,” he said. “It’s just getting there. Five years is a long time, right?”
Kahikina says this phase — unlike the construction on Dillingham — will not affect access to shops and residents along Nimitz Highway.
“If you can look at what happened on Dillingham or maybe even the West Side — there is probably still going to be impact to the businesses that are immediately in the area — but access will always be open to them,” she said. “We do understand that this is having a major impact on the community, but it is a necessary evil that we do this.”
Segment Two of the Rail — which will reach the Kalihi Transit Center — is set to open to the public on Saturday, Oct. 16, and officials said the first weekend will be free to riders of Skyline and TheBus.