Concrete barriers ‘floating’ on eroding Honoapiʻilani Highway spur emergency designation; state moves to prevent cutoff

The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation has officially designated a section of Honoapiʻilani Highway near Mile Post 14 a traffic emergency zone, citing serious erosion beneath the road that threatens to cut off access to West Maui.

Motorists are advised that there will be short holds of traffic for approximately 20 minutes or less on Honoapi‘ilani Highway as crews move barricades in the area. Work will be conducted from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Thursday, July 3. Crews will hold traffic as barriers are moved and some replaced along the makai shoulder.

During a public meeting held Wednesday afternoon, HDOT officials said they first identified the issue on June 25, noting that concrete barriers along the highway near Olowalu were no longer supported by solid ground. Some were visibly “floating” due to ongoing erosion beneath the roadway.

“Continued erosion of the road would cause a closure of Honoapiʻilani and cut off access to West Maui,” the HDOT official said. “Kahekili Highway is not an adequate alternative route for commercial and tourist traffic. The residents and businesses of West Maui would be severely impacted by an extended closure (…) so in order to facilitate emergency repairs for this serious situation, HDOT is declaring this portion of the highway a traffic emergency.”

Immediate work is scheduled to begin Thursday morning. Crews will relocate and, if necessary, replace the barricades before morning commuter traffic and Lahaina fire debris hauling begins. HDOT estimated Wednesday the affected stretch of road to be roughly 200 to 250 feet long.

HDOT says the current barriers will be moved approximately two feet mauka (mountain-side). HDOT also says it plans to stabilize the roadway embankment utilizing mesh bags filled with rocks and sand.

The emergency declaration, made under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes 264-1.5, allows the state to fast-track the procurement and permitting processes for repair work.

The long-term fix will involve shifting the road mauka and repaving the shoulder to stabilize traffic lanes. That work will be coordinated with the upcoming Honoapiʻilani Highway realignment project, which HDOT said could go out for proposals (RFP) later this year. A notice to proceed is expected sometime around mid-2026. The project aims for completion in 2027.

According to HDOT, erosion in this area intensified during recent king tides, which pushed seawater through the base of the roadway. HDOT reported water “seeping through the bottom of barricades” and barricades “just hanging” by their connection to the other barricades.