Work to beautify a stretch of Nimitz Highway for people driving to Waikiki from Honolulu Airport came in $200,000 under budget and 26 days ahead of schedule, meaning dignitaries arriving for this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit will be greeted by a 1.25-mile stretch of palm trees and two acres of new Saint Augustine grass.

The project began on Sept. 17 and originally was expected to be finished at the end of November, long after President Barack Obama and the heads of 20 other APEC countries had left Oahu.

The work was supposed to cost $1.5 million but ended up under budget at $1.3 million, state Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said.

"We’re extremely happy," said Jadine Urasaki, the department’s deputy for capital improvement projects. "We’re totally ecstatic about it."

The project had been under discussion for years, but crews had to work seven days a week to get it finished late last week, Urasaki said.

They planted the trees and grass along a stretch of Nimitz Highway’s median from Sand Island Access Road to just past Alakawa Street.

Some 80 percent of Hawaii tourists arriving at Honolulu Airport "drive through this area," Urasaki said Sunday, looking at the newly planted trees and grass. "We wanted to reflect the local Hawaii sense of place, and that’s what you see now heading from Honolulu International Airport down to Waikiki."

While the project was driven by this week’s arrival of APEC dignitaries, the trees and grass will be appreciated by local residents and millions of tourists for years to come, Urasaki said.

"Although it’s APEC-inspired," Urasaki said, "it will have lasting effects for the people of Hawaii as well as the tourism industry. It brings back a sense of aloha to Hawaii."

The palm trees are expected to grow to heights approaching 30 feet and will be pruned twice a year. The grass is scheduled to be mowed twice a month.

"This face lift to one of the main roadways that lead into downtown and Waikiki is long overdue," Gov. Neil Abercrombie said in a statement on Sunday. "But its completion reminds us of what can be done when we invest in areas that have been neglected. It also leaves a better impression of the beauty that our islands offer when first-time visitors head into Waikiki."