Motorists trying to get from Kihei to Pa'ia have been dealing with construction and detours for the past year or so now.
Hansen Road (past the Sugar Mill) is closed, undergoing a much needed overhaul which includes widening and bike lanes. Traffic has been detoured past the new Target on the new road (Ho'okele Rd) going through a yet-to-be-built industrial park. This is a fun road to drive and connects with the Hana Hwy on the other end.
We've also watched a new Airport Access Road being built - it connects with Dairy Road and Pakaula Rd (the road that gets you to Walmart and Home Depot) by the Harley Davidson store. This road is being built in two phases - the first phase opened a few days ago, allowing you to bypass all the busyness of Dairy Road and connects behind Lowes etc directly to the Hana Hwy. At that point you need to turn right, then left onto Dairy Road to get to the airport.
Construction on Phase 2 of the Airport Access Road is underway, cutting across the land behind Kmart and Costco and eventually leading directly to Kahului Airport. I'm not sure when they plan on that phase being done, but for now there are three roads that lead to Hana Hwy, with the fourth (Hansen) due to re-open this winter sometime. This should help reduce traffic on Dairy Road which in the busy high season (winter) can move at a snail's pace.
Pu'unene Hwy now connects to the Airport Access Road. The next set of lights (by the Harley Davidson intersection) connects to Dairy Road (turn left). It will take some getting used to.
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the new Airport Access Road/Dairy Road intersection (photo from MauiNow) |
Labels: flights, life on Maui