Emergency Road Work Scheduled Near Hanalei

The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation has narrowed lanes on Kūhiō Highway (Route 560) between the Hanalei Bridge and Hanalei Town in the vicinity of mile marker 1.6 in preparation for upcoming emergency paving work.

The narrowed lanes and emergency paving is necessary to reduce loads on the highway because of Hanalei River erosion impacting the roadway. An inspection by boat conducted on April 6, 2022, revealed that significant erosion is undermining Kūhiō Highway pavement in places up to 16 inches.

To protect the only road access for the communities of Hanalei, Wainiha, and Hāʻena, HDOT is declaring this portion of Kūhiō Highway a traffic emergency zone. Emergency paving work for this section of roadway is scheduled for the first week of May, weather permitting. The emergency work will add up to 10-feet of pavement on the mauka side of Kūhiō Highway to route traffic away from the river.

The permanent mitigation for the river erosion will be a shoulder stabilization project. HDOT has been working for several months on design and permitting for this project. When the shoulder stabilization work is complete, Kūhiō Highway in the vicinity of MM 1.6 will be returned to its original alignment, and the temporary paving will be removed.