Ask the Mayor: Can the Hoʻokele-Mokulele Intersection Have Two Left-Turn Lanes?

Road work sign along the Mokulele Highway. Photo courtesy Dane Patao Jr.

Mayor Alan Arakawa answers some of the most-asked questions submitted to his office staff.

Dear Mayor:

Q: My question is about the Hoʻokele-Mokulele Highway intersection. Because Hansen Road is closed and the connector road is not finished yet, Hoʻokele gets supremely backed up when trying to turn left onto Mokulele. Can the intersection be modified to have two lanes turning left, instead of one?

A: Our Public Works department has been working with State of Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation officials on how to provide a temporary fix while all the road work is going on. A joint county-state decision was made a few weeks ago to increase the length of time for the green light turning light from Hoʻokele onto Mokulele.

This was determined to be the best option for now, because other more involved options, like providing a double left turn, would affect neighboring signals and require numerous (and expensive) changes to the intersection, such as adding heads, detectors and signal phase modifications. The ability for two large trucks to take the left turn side-by-side was also a concern.

HIDOT anticipates restoring the link between Mokulele and Pakaula by June, and at that time, the double left at the Mokulele-Dairy-Puʻunēnē-Kuihelani intersection should be in full service again providing traffic an alternate route for getting through this area.

Want to Ask the Mayor?

Submit your questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa via email at AsktheMayor@mauicounty.gov, by phone at 270-7855 or by mail to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the Ask the Mayor column.