Southern Connector Road Between Honoapi‘ilani and Lahaina Bypass Opens Today

Lahaina Bypass 1b-2.
PC: Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company via Hawaiʻi DOT.

The Southern Connector Road between the lower Honoapiʻilani Highway and the Honoapiʻilani Highway Realignment Phase 1B-2 (also known as the Lahaina Bypass) will open to vehicular traffic at approximately 3:30 p.m. today, Friday, May 11, 2018.

The Southern Connector Road intersection with the Bypass will be a right-in/right-out movement. Māʻalaea bound motorists coming from the lower road will be able to access the Bypass via a free-right hand turn.

Installation of a second left-turn lane from southbound Honoapiʻilani Highway onto the northern terminus of the Bypass at Keawe Street was completed and opened to traffic on May 2, 2018. Additional pavement markings on the northbound approach to the Honoapiʻilani Highway and Keawe Street intersection were installed on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 and serve as visual guidance to the modified intersection.

Work remains at the Southern Terminus, which is expected to open in its final configuration on May 25, 2018. The April 23, 2018 shift in traffic to the Bypass was needed to complete the Southern Connector Road tie-in, Southern Terminus tie-in, and the drainage basin at the Southern Terminus. Utility work at the Southern Terminus happening today (Friday, May 11, 2018), including removal of the existing fiber optic line and pole, will require contraflow of traffic for approximately 30 minutes starting at 10 a.m.

Officials with the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation say following the completion of the work at the Southern Terminus, the only work remaining will be landscaping and minor grading outside the shoulder lane of the Bypass.

The official name of the Bypass is Route 3000.  Common names will be established for the Bypass and the Southern Connector Road in the near future. Both Route 3000 and Honoapiʻilani Highway (Route 30) will be classified as principal arterials, which is a functional classification for roadways that connect major metropolitan areas. Click here for more information on functional classifications of highways.