Nighttime drivers in town should brace themselves for the latest — and likely the final — round of full closures in a single direction on the H-1 freeway, as crews enter the final push to complete repairs along the state’s busiest roadway.

Starting Sunday night, the overnight full closures in a single direction between Ward Avenue and Likelike Highway that were in place last month will resume. This time, transportation officials say, the closures will continue until sometime in July, when the work is expected to wrap up.

The full closures in one direction are slated for 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday nights through Friday mornings. They’ll start in the eastbound direction, and then switch to the westbound direction every few weeks or so, until the work is completed, state Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday.

Officials also revealed there’s a chance that road crews might shut down that stretch of freeway entirely on some nights, depending on what conditions they find as they continue to dig into the roadway. State transportation officials last raised that possibility when they began discussing the H-1 Freeway Rehabilitation Project last year.

"It was always on our minds, to be honest," state Highways Administrator Alvin Takeshita said. The idea is now being considered publicly because the single-direction full closures have gone smoothly so far, he said.

The H-1 repair work in town, where up to 190,000 vehicles travel a day, is about a decade overdue, officials say.

Crews have been digging about 14 inches deep into stretches of the freeway in both directions, and the contractor completing the project said last month’s full westbound closures allowed its two crews to rebuild about 1,600 feet of lane per night — working more safely and efficiently than they would if cars were driving past.

Whenever the freeway is fully closed in one direction, traffic flow will be limited to a single, weaving lane in the opposite direction, officials said. At Wednesday’s briefing, Honolulu Police Department Maj. Lestor Hite urged the public to drive safely through the construction zone and noted that driving violations in such zones could result in a fine of about $300.

In addition, DOT announced a new social media campaign to promote safety in the construction zone, encouraging motorists to use two hashtags on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: #HiWorkZone and #HiDOTyellow.

If work is finished in July, the $42 million freeway repair project will likely wrap up on budget as well as about two months ahead of schedule. Crews still need to finish rebuilding the roadway, and then they’ll repave it with what they describe as a "high performing" asphalt mix. 

Officials say an asphalt-concrete mix being used for repairs is expected to last 10 to 15 years. Previously, asphalt held up for seven to 10 years.

In addition, when the work is done, the freeway will have four lanes to help ease traffic, improved lighting and glare screens, state DOT officials say.

In the meantime, nighttime drivers are advised to use alternate routes, such as Nimitz Highway, King Street and Dillingham Boulevard.