The state plans to reconfigure Kamehameha Highway between the Kipapa Stream Bridge and Lanikuhana Avenue with new pavement markings to increase motorist, bicyclist and pedestrian safety as part of a project already underway.

Three travel lanes will be reduced to two, and a wider median and shoulders will be added, according to the state Department of Transportation, with the project’s anticipated completion date in September or October.

“Safety is our top priority, and we are constantly reviewing areas across the state where modifications can be made to increase safety,” said HDOT Highways Deputy Director Ed Sniffen in a news release. “The widening of Kipapa Stream Bridge gives us an opportunity to make the corridor between Waipio and Mililani safer for everyone by adding a median and wider shoulders.”

Currently, the roadway north of the bridge consists of three 11-foot travel lanes (two northbound lanes and one southbound lane) and up to 4-foot-wide shoulders.

The roadway will be re-striped to accommodate two 11-foot travel lanes (one northbound lane and one southbound lane), a 3- to 6-foot median and 4- to 6-1/2-foot shoulders.

The wider median would increase safety on the route by reducing the risk of head-on collisions, according to HDOT, and the wider shoulders would provide space for motorists needing to attend to emergencies while keeping travel lanes clear. It would also improve bike and pedestrian connectivity for Central Oahu.

The contractor for the ongoing Kipapa Stream Bridge Rehabilitation project — which includes overhang extension work to widen the bridge — will make the adjustments to reduce the need for additional lane closures, said HDOT. The state began construction on the project in April.

Between 2012 and 2016, HDOT said there were 13 motor vehicle crashes due to a vehicle crossing over the centerline on the north side of the bridge, which does not currently have a median, compared with four on the south side of the bridge, which has a striped median. A traffic study was also conducted to determine the average travel time if a northbound lane was closed on Kamehameha Highway between Ka Uka Boulevard and Lanikuhana Avenue.

Lane closures are updated weekly at hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/roadwork.