State transportation officials said Tuesday that emergency repairs for Pali Highway are on schedule in the wake of damaging rockslides in mid-February but that current contra-flow hours will remain the same.

The morning contra-flow will remain the same as last month, with two lanes of Honolulu-bound traffic available from 5 to 9 a.m., and Kailua-bound lanes available 3 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays for the evening commute.

With repairs remaining on track, said state Highways Division Deputy Director Ed Sniffen, the estimated reopening of Pali Highway is set for the end of August.

“This gives us the best opportunity to maximize the construction schedules to not only get the emergency repairs done in August, but also the reconstruction of Pali Highway done by August time frame,” said Sniffen. “So we really appreciate the public’s patience with us on this.”

Crews are still at work installing a catchment system, made up of anchors and a strong mesh barrier below Old Pali Road to catch debris from the slopes of the Koolau above. Once that work is completed by the end of the month, then work can begin below, he said.

The state is also planning an 80-foot extension to the entrance of the second tunnel going town-bound, with designs expected to be finalized by the middle of the month.

Pali Tunnel electric light repairs are expected to be done by early June. Until then tunnel lights are still out.

>> View more photos of the repairs being made for Pali Highway in our gallery.

The estimated cost of repairs and additions is currently about $21 million, Sniffen said, with federal reimbursements expected to pay for most of it.

In the meantime crews also continue previously scheduled repaving work on the town-bound side of Pali Highway, also on schedule for completion by August. The highway’s surface is being paved with stone-matrix asphalt, a more expensive but durable mix which has already been installed on a portion of Moanalua Freeway and proved its toughness.

When asked whether the Kailua­-bound side of Pali Highway could be transformed into a two-way artery and kept open all hours, Sniffen said it was being used by contractors to transport materials. If the Kailua-bound lanes were used 24 hours a day, that could potentially delay the repair and repaving work. Portions of the Kailua-bound highway are also being paved at this time.

Meanwhile, during emergency repairs the state will discontinue the morning coning at Castle Junction that provided a second dedicated right-turn lane from Kamehameha Highway onto Pali Highway Honolulu-bound.

Maintenance work on Koolau routes such as the H-3 freeway and Likelike Highway may still be necessary, but the state will provide advance notification of closures and aim to keep two routes available at any time.

State officials are also putting estimated travel times back on the dynamic message signs on the H-1 Kaamilo Street overpass going eastbound and the H-1 Liliha Street overpass going westbound.

PALI HIGHWAY ACCESS

>> 5 to 9 a.m.: Two lanes of Honolulu-bound traffic available Mondays through Fridays.

>> 3 to 7 p.m.: Kailua/Kaneohe-bound lanes available Mondays through Fridays.

>> Saturday, Sundays, holidays: Closed between Castle Junction and Waokanaka Street.

Source: State Department of Transportation