Maui: Changes made to ease traffic during force main project work

The recent traffic congestion on Honoapiilani Highway in the vicinity of the Lahaina Civic Center is the result of the construction of the wastewater force main replacement project.  This project is to construct a new 20-inch force main to replace the aging force main.  The existing force main is reaching the end of its useful life as evident by two major rupture events in recent years: On February 8, 2007 approximately 687,500 gallons of raw sewage were spilled when the line broke in the vicinity of Wahikuli Beach Park. Another break on August 15, 2011 resulted in no spill to the ocean, but residents of Wahikuli experienced night time noise disruptions as crews worked overnight to fix the line.

The Lahaina Wastewater Pump Station #3 conveys approximately 1.2 million gallons of raw sewage every day, servicing the Lahaina area from Puamana to the Lahaina Civic Center. This sewage is conveyed to the next pump station located near the Kaanapali Parkway, and eventually conveyed to the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility.  The force main was constructed in 1976 and is made of ductile iron.
 
The original plan was to impact Honoapiilani Highway for 8 work days as there is about 750 feet of force main to be constructed under Honoapiilani Highway.  Typical construction methods permits 100 feet of force main to be constructed per day.  Unforeseen subsurface conditions have altered the schedule as large boulders have been encountered under the highway, slowing construction speed to about 40 feet of force main per day. At the current rate of production, it is anticipated that force main construction on the highway take an additional 8 to 10 work days. Moreover, the highway will be impacted again during the repaving phase of the project. This phase is yet to be scheduled, but proper notices will be posted.

Starting Tuesday, July 17, 2012, we started the implementation of changes in the traffic control plans, which were in response to the traffic delays. Two lanes of southbound traffic will remain open while one northbound lane will be open with the option of detouring excess northbound traffic onto Lahaina Civic Center Drive. Starting Wednesday, traffic officers will be added to manually operate the traffic light at Lahaina Civic Center to minimize the waiting time at the intersection. These traffic control plan changes have been reviewed and approved by the Hawaii Department of Transportation, Highways Division.