Question: When will the widening of Salt Lake Boulevard be completed? It has been almost two years of disruptions.
Answer: There are several years of work left on this Complete Streets project, designed to accommodate all modes of traffic. Before we get to the updated construction timeline, we’ll emphasize that a full daytime closure of Salt Lake Boulevard from Radford Drive to Wanaka Street is scheduled to begin Monday, and continue for four to six weeks.
As for the timeline of the overall widening project, here are updates from Bryan Gallagher, deputy director of Honolulu’s Department of Design and Construction, as well as information from the project website, saltlake widening.com/, and Honolulu’s Complete Streets website, honolulu.gov/completestreets/saltlake:
Two phases of work remain in the Salt Lake Boulevard Widening project, Phase 3A (makai), which is underway, and Phase 3B (mauka), which is in the planning or design stage.
When Phase 3A kicked off in February 2022, it was expected to finish around May 2024, but various delays have pushed its projected completion date to late 2025.
Construction on Phase 3B, the final phase, is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 and finish by the fourth quarter of 2028, completing the project.
Construction is 67% complete on Phase 3A, along Salt Lake Boulevard from Maluna Street to Ala Liliko‘i Street.
The road closure that begins Monday will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays, on Salt Lake Boulevard from Radford Drive to Wanaka Street, and continue for four to six weeks. “During this period, excavation activities will be undertaken to install a new 8-inch waterline. This 8-inch waterline requires a steel reinforced concrete jacket and three manhole connections to an existing 24-inch waterline that runs through the center of SLB. The Honolulu Police Department will be assisting with the road closure. Motorists are advised to follow posted detour signs directing traffic around the area either onto Radford Drive or Likini Street. Additionally, bus notifications have been issued, and residents have been informed accordingly,” Gallagher said in an email Friday.
The estimated construction bid date for Phase 3B is in the third quarter of 2026.
Together, Phases 3A and 3B “will expand Salt Lake Boulevard between Maluna Street and Ala Liliko‘i Street from two lanes to four lanes (two eastbound, two westbound) to reduce traffic congestion and delays and to accommodate the anticipated increase in traffic volumes over the coming years. The expansion will also include a median/left-turn storage lane, on-street parallel parking, buffered bike lanes in both directions, improved sidewalks in both directions, improved pedestrian-scale lighting, new traffic signals, and the installation of a new storm water drainage system and underground detention basins. (3A+3B) is the final phase of the City’s 2.8-mile Salt Lake Boulevard Widening Project. Its completion will add much needed roadway capacity, mobility, safety, and resiliency to the final segment of a significant travel route serving both local and through traffic. The project will also include new 36-inch and 8-inch Board of Water Supply water mains,” Gallagher said.
Q: I am confused about the new COVID vaccine recommendations. I am 75. If I got a shot in October are they saying I should get another one?
Q: Will Medicare cover the cost of the COVID-19 booster shot recently recommended by the CDC for seniors?
A: Yes and yes.
The website for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that “people aged 65 years and older who received one dose of any updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Novavax) should receive one additional dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine at least four months after the previous updated dose.”
Medicare’s website (medicare.gov) says Medicare covers the updated (2023–2024 formula) Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people 5 and older. “If you’re immunocompromised (like people who have had an organ transplant and are at risk for infections and other diseases), you can get a three-dose series of updated (2023-2024 formula) Moderna or Pfizer- BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. If you had doses of a Moderna or Pfizer- BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the past, you can get one or two doses of the updated formula, depending on how many doses you had in the past,” the website says.
Mahalo
On March 1, I went to Marukai. It was so crowded but I managed to squeeze my car in a narrow space, whereupon a very kind man came and politely informed me that I was parked too close and the party next to me would be unable to open their car door. He then so kindly offered to guide me so I could safely re-park. He was so gracious and kind that although I felt embarrassed at myself, I really appreciated his tactful and caring manner. I sincerely thank you kind sir (you know who you are). We were able to come away with not a scratch on either car. Mahalo! — Gloria
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
