State extends morning HOV, contraflow lane hours
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
The state will be extending HOV lane hours to 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Starting today, Oahu motorists have an extra 30 minutes to use the HOV lane, the state Department of Transportation announced.
The state will be extending HOV lane hours to 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
The double occupancy restriction previously ended at 8:30 a.m.
The department said the purpose of the extension of HOV and contraflow lane hours is to encourage ridesharing, which helps reduce traffic congestion by moving more people in fewer cars.
The new hours will affect the following routes:
· H-1 freeway eastbound (HOV, Waiawa Interchange to Keehi Interchange)
· H-1 freeway eastbound (Zip lane, Managers Drive overpass to Keehi Interchange)
· H-1 freeway eastbound (shoulder express lane – extension of contraflow express lane/ Zip lane, Pearl Harbor Interchange to Keehi Interchange)
· Nimitz Highway eastbound (HOV and contraflow, Keehi Interchange to Industrial Parkway)
· H-2 freeway southbound (HOV, Mililani Interchange to Waiawa Interchange)
Crews will be adjusting signs to reflect the new hours.
Officials are also remdining motorists that use of these lanes requires two or more occupants in their vehicle during the designated times. Single motorists, with the exception of motorcyclists and qualified Electric Vehicles, using the Zip lane, HOV, express, or contraflow lanes may be cited by authorities. The penalty for illegal use of the HOV lane can range from $75 to $200.
A full listing of locations and hours for HOV and contraflow lanes on Oahu can be found here.
23 responses to “State extends morning HOV, contraflow lane hours”
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Way too many single car drivers cheating by using the zip lane, nothing happens to them.
Need to install cameras at every zip lane entrance, picture of ever car entering. Any car with one driver is sent a ticket based on the car’s license number. Let the registered owner figure it out.
Most of the cars using the HOV lanes have kids in there that can’t even drive anyway, so it’s not keeping extra cars off the roads as they think.
I agree with that. It should be drivers only that count. A baby in a carseat doesn’t cut it.
I agree. DOT/State have really been incompetent on this one, typical. Occupants should be at least two licensed drivers, No car seats with kids, no children which would easily be detected by cops. Cops probably looking for adults or older children before pulled over by cops. If pulled over and second adult does not have a valid drivers license, give the driver a ticket. How dumb was it to consider a child in car seat as a valid second occupant.
The remedy to this is to RAISE the STATE’s gas tax! The State of Hawaii could use the xtra taxes to get TheRail to UH! Just raise the gas tax so that it’s $5/gallon, solving 2 problems with one stone so to say
agree
extending the time will only create more traffic..should get rid of the hov lane altogether..traffic would flow better..no one ever gets ticketed
Yes, this 1/2 hour extension of the HOV Lane usage is to punish the public single occupancy driver. That’s what it sounds like to me.
They should be punished!!! We need you single drivers off the road.
Pro-Rail? lol, LOSE MONEY
Had to answer you somewhere. I am no way pro rail. The whole thing is surrounded by corruption and will plague us forever. Carpooling, Staggered work hours and more government jobs moving to the 2nd city. That is what we need.
I’d suggest having the HOV lanes open 24/7 if you want drivers commuting to start about using TheRail to Middle Street.
Are these people out of their minds? Have they ever even driven in the westbound traffic at 8:30 a.m.? It’s typically already starting to mellow out by that time, and the freeway actually becomes a proper mass transition system. Now they want to screw that up by putting more restrictions on a lane by adding another half-hour to the 2-passenger requirement?
The DOT is cancer.
Sorry, I meant to say eastbound traffic at 8:30 a.m., not westbound.
Did you not read my post above, these new measures are to punish more single occupied drivers after traffic starts to clear on the freeway. IMO, they should keep the zip lane going until 12 noon! Why stop the punishment at 9am?
We need to fine really slow drivers in the HOV lane. there were few occasions where i was in the back of drivers that went approx 45 mph while cars on the congested freeway are passing me.
WTF???
is driving out of the HOV land better than in? hahahahaha, give em an inch and they want 10 yards.
I’ve never seen any actual numbers on ride-sharing/car-pooling. I would be interested to see if any data exists and what it says.
LOL! How do you enforce this extension? Stop the violator in the HOV lane and render it useless, create way more traffic as rubberneckers slow down in the adjacent lanes to look. Causing more ltraffic for a longer time period only affects commerce (slows the transport of commodities) and lessens the quality of our lives. Job well done HDOT! Please read your mission statement again.
This is welcomed news! One of the lanes being extended for HOV lanes is the shoulder lane from Pearl City, eastbound. How is leaving that lane open for another 30 minutes hurting anyone? The traffic at 8:30 eastbound, is STILL BAD!
Only HOV lane not (right) shoulder lane.
Close the Waiawa entrance to zipper lane. Drivers in the HOV southbound H2 should stay in the HOV lane. No purpose of entering zipper lane. Drivers can enter Nimitz Hwy after airport, far left.
Rather than celebrating the extended contra-flow lane hours, we should be condemning the ever-increasing traffic volume that necessitates such an extension. Traffic will only continue to increase in volume over time, a fact that extended contra-flow lane hours can’t fix.