In an effort to alleviate afternoon traffic congestion at Kalaeloa Boulevard and Farrington Highway in Kapolei, police officers are now monitoring and directing traffic at the busy intersection.

Honolulu police officers will be posted at the two-way stop from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. weekdays, through mid-2018.

The effort, which got underway Monday, comes as the state Department of Transportation moves forward with the Kapolei Interchange Complex project. The DOT completed the first phase, which includes a new westbound onramp from Makakilo Drive and an offramp to Farrington Highway exiting near the Wet ’n’ Wild Hawaii water park, in 2011.

The project’s second phase is scheduled for completion in mid-2018. The installation of a permanent traffic signal at Kalaeloa Boulevard and Farrington Highway is now in the design phase.

DOT Director Ford Fuchigami said the police presence is a way “to deliver immediate traffic relief” to motorists using Kalaeloa Boulevard, the main feeder to Kapolei Business Park and Campbell Industrial Park, and which also serves nearby Kapolei Commons and Costco.

State Rep. Andria Tupola (R, Kalaeloa-Ko Olina-Maili) praised the move and said traffic tie-ups at Nanakuli intersections could benefit from a similar police presence. She said residents told her Monday that the police presence was helpful until about 4 p.m., when traffic started to back up going into Honokai Hale and Nanakuli.

“It’s something that needed to be done a while ago. I’m glad that they’re doing that,” Tupola said of the police presence. “It’s a good thing, but I wonder how it’s going to affect everything else.”