Honolulu police closed a portion of Kalanianaole Highway in Waimanalo for about an hour late this afternoon after a vehicle collision.

Police, fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to the crash between a cargo van and a small SUV about 4:30 p.m..

Police at the scene said a woman in her early 30s who was driving the SUV was taken in serious condition to The Queen’s Medical Center after her vehicle was struck by the van, but her condition was later upgraded to stable.

Police said the male driver of the van, who is in his 20s, was uninjured.

Police said the van was heading toward Hawaii Kai when he apparently lost control of the vehicle, veered into the right shoulder, overcompensated and ended up in the oncoming Kailua-bound lane of Kalanianaole Highway, striking the SUV.

Police said the two vehicles came to rest facing each other in the middle of the highway.

Because the vehicles were blocking both sides of the highway, police said they had to close the highway in both directions.

In an alert sent around 4:35 p.m., police said the highway was closed in both directions from Old Kalanianaole Highway to Flamingo Road, due to vehicle collision.

Firefighters provided medical attention to the woman.

The vehicles were towed well within the hour, but traffic was backed up in both directions initially, and motorists tried to avoid the accident by taking the back roads in Waimanalo.

Just before 6 p.m., traffic was flowing in the Kailua-bound direction, but traffic heading into Waimanalo remained backed up.