The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) has announced a full closure of the Hālona Street and Likelike Highway on-ramps to the westbound H-1 Freeway beginning Friday, August 8. The closure will start at 9 p.m. and continue until 7 a.m. the following day as part of ongoing work for the H-1 Freeway Widening project.
During this period, two right lanes on the westbound H-1 Freeway between the Houghtailing Street off-ramp (Exit 20B) and the Likelike Highway on-ramp will be closed to allow for installation of portable concrete barriers. These barriers are needed for a subsequent 24-hour closure of the right shoulder to support waterline relocation work. For safety reasons, both on-ramps will remain closed during this installation.
Drivers heading toward Honolulu on Likelike Highway will be detoured via Kalihi Street to North King Street before reentering the westbound freeway. Those traveling westbound on Hālona Street will be directed to use Houghtailing Street and North King Street as their detour route back onto the freeway. HDOT advises motorists to plan accordingly, expect extra travel time, and exercise caution in all affected areas.
“Please plan accordingly, allow for extra travel time to get to your destinations and proceed with caution through any work areas,” HDOT stated in its announcement.
Special duty police officers will be present at these sites to help with traffic control and safety procedures. Electronic message boards will provide information about closures.
Work continues along the eastbound H-1 Freeway where crews are widening lanes and constructing new retaining walls. Nightly lane closures within project limits are scheduled from Monday through Friday nights, between 9 p.m. and 4:30 a.m., including closure of the H-201 Moanalua Freeway on-ramp during these hours.
Starting Monday, August 11, Beckley Street is set for a full daily closure from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. while crews install a new waterline vault—an underground structure designed for water system equipment protection. Beckley Street will remain closed at Gulick Avenue outside work hours; local traffic can access it from Diamond Head side only. This closure is expected to last four months depending on weather conditions.
Crews have also been working daily with alternating single lane closures on Richard Lane and Gulick Avenue from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, as part of utility relocation efforts tied to freeway widening projects.
HDOT now estimates that widening and retaining wall construction should finish by November 2025—a change from an earlier July projection—and that installation of a temporary pedestrian bridge over Gulick Avenue requiring complete overnight freeway closures is now planned for March 2026 instead of September 2025.
The overall Eastbound H-1 Freeway Improvements Project completion date has shifted from March 2027 to September 2027 due in part to weather considerations. More details about these projects can be found at https://h1widening.com/. Information about other scheduled lane closures statewide is available at https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/roadwork/.
