Nightly Full Closures on Kūhiō Highway Hanalei Hill Feb. 23 to 27

Kūhiō Highway’s Hanalei Hill will fully close to traffic nightly from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. for five nights, Feb. 23 through Feb. 27, while crews reconstruct pavement on the Hanalei approach to the Hanalei Bridge. The work zone is identified as the Route 560 segment between Hanalei Plantation Road and ʻŌhiki Road and is intended to complete pavement reconstruction on the Hanalei approach.

The closure footprint reported in community notices spans mile post 0.3 to 1.2, in the immediate vicinity of Hanalei Plantation Road and ʻŌhiki Road, and variable message boards will be posted to warn drivers. Officials say first responders have been notified and “will be able to pass through the work area in case of an emergency.” For official scheduling updates or to request clarification, the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Public Affairs Office can be reached at 808-587-2160 and weekly lane closure information is posted on the department’s website.

This five-night window is the latest in a string of schedule revisions after an earlier contractor notice showed successive changes. HDOT’s site carries an editorial note reading “Update: The contractor has revised the schedule,” and previous releases and social posts listed full-closure windows in early and mid-February, including Feb. 2–13 and a later revision to Feb. 9–20, plus a community post that listed a Feb. 17–20 paving window. County materials also show the closures were postponed to begin Feb. 23; project managers cite the contractor schedule and weather as the drivers of those shifts.

Readers should note an internal inconsistency in the closure language that requires confirmation before travel plans. Some release text describes the work as occurring “nightly Monday through Friday,” which would include Friday nights, while other lines state plainly, “There will be no closures on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.” Confirming whether Friday night, Feb. 27, is included in the active closure remains important and can be done through HDOT Public Affairs at 808-587-2160.

Work is weather permitting and sources also state that “If the work is completed sooner than anticipated, the highway will reopen.” Officials additionally warn there “may be future closures for asphalt treatment on the Princeville side of the Hanalei Bridge,” meaning further nighttime work could follow completion of the current pavement reconstruction.

Several other concurrent lane and night operations are listed in county traffic posts for Kuhio Highway across the island, including lane shifts near Aliomanu at mile posts 14 to 16 for grass cutting (8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Feb. 17–20), striping between mile posts 24.4 and 28.1 during overnight hours, and a Wailua mauka bridge full closure at mile posts 5.7 to 5.9 with traffic routed to Wailua Plantation Bridge for concrete work. Those with planned travel to Hanalei or Princeville during the Feb. 23–27 window should check HDOT updates and posted variable message boards for route and emergency-access details.