Motorists planning to travel through the Waipahu area this weekend should be prepared for some significant changes to their usual route. The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) has announced a full closure of the northbound lanes of Kamehameha Highway from Waipahu Street to Waipi‘o Uka Street. This closure, starting early Saturday, October 25 at 3 a.m. and extending until Sunday evening, October 26 at 8 p.m., will allow a group of local high school students to safely paint a community mural. The HDOT notice indicates that traffic will be contraflowed on the southbound lanes, providing one lane for each direction.
The project is part of a beautification initiative, as HDOT partners with the Hawai‘i Department of Education and local artists. Approaching 100 students from Pearl City, Mililani, and Waipahu High Schools are set to quickly bring to life a stretch of highway with a mural that will tell the story of the Waipi‘o Ahupua‘a. Artists Blythe Yoshikane, Jesse Velasquez, and Solomon Enos will oversee the student painters, providing guidance as they depict this significant local narrative. To make sure to provide a safe environment for the students, special duty police officers will be stationed at key intersections to assist with traffic control.
Preparations for the project involved HDOT removing old paint and applying primer to three walls that will serve as the murals' canvas. A base coat, reflective of the mauka-to-makai theme, has already been laid down, and artists will sketch out the mural designs in the days leading up to the student painting event. Community members driving in the area are advised to follow posted electronic message boards and traffic controls to navigate the detours smoothly.
