Kūhiō Highway gets single-lane closure for steel plate repair in Līhue

Drivers heading into Līhue had to slow down on Kūhiō Highway as one lane was closed between Malolo Road and Aku Road from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for steel plate work. Hawaii Department of Transportation said motorists should expect delays in the work zone.

The lane closure followed an earlier waterline incident in the same corridor. The Kauai Department of Water said at 4:30 a.m. on May 29 that crews were repairing two water lines that had been struck by a contractor, triggering an emergency water service shutdown on Kūhiō Highway between Malolo Road and Aku Road for about three hours.

By 5:55 a.m. that same day, water service had been restored, but crews stayed on scene to finish road repair work and flush the system through an open hydrant. The steel plate installation came after that response, putting a temporary roadway patch over a stretch that had already been disturbed by the utility break.

The disruption added to a busy run of utility work on Kūhiō Highway in Līhue. A separate waterline project for the Hardy-Oxford corridor has already carried planned nighttime lane closures from March 1 through September 15, with work scheduled on weekdays from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Kauai County has said that project is intended to upgrade aging water main infrastructure to meet current water system standards, including fire flow requirements.

HDOT says planned construction and maintenance closures on state roads are posted weekly so motorists can prepare before they get into a work zone. On Kūhiō Highway, that advice has become especially relevant, with repeated lane restrictions and utility repairs stacking up along one of the island’s main routes into Līhue.