Waimanu Street to change to 2-way road

Starting Tuesday, crews from the Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. will convert Waimanu Street into a two-way street.

The mauka lane of Waimanu Street will be converted into a westbound lane with on-street parking.

Traffic signals will be modified on Waimanu at both Pensacola and Piikoi streets.

City officials say the change is expected to provide greater connectivity for the planned major rail transit station on Kona Street, provide a direct eastbound and westbound connection between future rail stations in Kakaako and at Ala Moana Center, and eliminate congestion on Ala Moana Boulevard.

The project is expected to be completed before Christmas, according to officials.

Waimanu Street between Pensacola and Piikoi is currently a four-lane, one-way, eastbound road.

Work will close part of Makiki Valley trail

The Department of Land and Natural Resources is shutting down a portion of the Makiki Valley hiking trail during weekdays for about three weeks to complete rockfall mitigation after a landslide in early July.

The Makiki Valley trail is one of three trails — Maunalaha, Ualakaa and Kanealole — that make up a loop to and from the Makiki Forest Recreation Area.

The closed portion is between the junction with Ualakaa and Maunalaha trails, more commonly known as "the four-way junction," and the junction with Kanealole trail. It will remain open on weekends.

Hilo prison posts cancellations on social media

Visitations at Kulani Correctional Facility in Hilo were canceled Monday due to staffing shortages, according to the Department of Public Safety.

The department has started to post visitation cancellation notices on Facebook and Twitter to inform those planning visits with inmates at the facility.

Notices are posted between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. on the scheduled visitation day, according to a news release.

For more information go to the department’s website at dps.hawaii.gov.

Public briefings to give updates on lava flow

Hawaii County Civil Defense and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory will hold community meetings on Tuesday and Thursday to update residents on lava flow in the Puna area.

The briefings will begin at 6:30 p.m. both days in the Pahoa High School cafeteria.

Meantime, the June 27 lava flow from Kilauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone remains active, scientists reported Monday.

HVO said on its website that during a civil defense flight Monday morning the farthest part of the flow, which had been spreading into the Wao Kele o Puna Forest Reserve, was seen to be spilling into another ground crack about 7.8 miles from the vent and about 1.2 miles from the eastern boundary of the reserve.

Scientists continue to monitor the June 27 flow, which emerged from the flank of Puu Oo on the volcano’s East Rift Zone.

Hawaii County Civil Defense officials are expected to call for evacuations if lava appears to be within five days of reaching populated areas, the Associated Press reported last week.