UPDATE: Kilauea Lane Closure Delayed, Will Last All Month

***Updated 11:03 a.m. Monday, Dec. 9.***

Changes have been announced for the scheduling of roadwork on a short stretch Hilo’s busy Kilauea Avenue.

A one-lane closure on the roughly one-block-long portion of Kilauea between Aupuni Street and the Wailoa Bridge set to begin today is now scheduled to begin tomorrow, said Noelani Whittington, spokeswoman for the county Department of Public Works.

And the closure will last until the end of the month, not for just two days as previously indicated.

As a result, only Puna-bound traffic will be allowed through the construction area. That traffic pattern will be in effect weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Which lane that remains open will change as the repaving project progresses, Whittington said, but the direction of travel will remain constant.

Motorists coming from the Puna direction will still be able to access Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary School and businesses across the street during the ongoing repaving project, but will not be able to go beyond the Wailoa Bridge. File photo.

That means traffic heading down Kilauea in the direction of downtown Hilo will be redirected onto Mohouli Street — except for motorists heading to Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary School, Cafe 100 or other locations on the Puna side of Wailoa Bridge.

The onset of the one-lane pattern was delayed when sewer line work located further down Kilauea, in front of Kawamoto Store, was not completed as scheduled.

Weekend work is currently not planned.

Whittington said all of the traffic changes are tentative and dependent on weather and other conditions, which also could require that some work take place on weekends.

Posted 6:55 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6:

One lane of a section of Kilauea Avenue will be closed for part of next week for a construction project, the county Department of Public Works said in a statement today.

The construction area consists of the roughly block-long stretch of Kilauea from Aupuni Street to the Wailoa Stream Bridge, also known as the Waiakea Stream Bridge.

The closure is scheduled for the makai lane heading in the direction of downtown from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 9 and 10.

Traffic heading in that direction on Kilauea will be redirected onto Mohouli Street.

The county had previously planned to close both lanes for the work, but changed the plan following discussion between public works staff, the contractor and merchants in the area.

The ongoing project includes sidewalk improvements, replacement of water and sewer lines, and repaving of the roadway.

It was originally estimated for completion by February, but will now be expedited in hopes of finishing it by the end of the year, the county said today.