State officials announced today their decision to keep the Piikoi onramp to the H-1 highway eastbound closed from 3 to 6:30 p.m. weekdays indefinitely.

In an evaluation of a recent, six-month pilot trial, the Hawaii Department of Transportation concluded that motorists saved almost five minutes in their freeway commute from the Middle Street merge to Punahou Street. This supported the findings of another 682-page report following a study in April 2017.

“We can say with confidence that the closure of the Piikoi onramp will improve the flow of traffic on the H-1 eastbound in the afternoons,” said state deputy director for highways Ed Sniffen in a news release. “The fact that the time savings in the main corridor continued to be evident in the follow up pilot closure confirmed that we made the best call for operational efficiency and safety in closing the Piikoi onramp during the afternoon peak.”

An analysis of the recent pilot closure found that closure of the Piikoi onramp resulted in time savings of 4.7 minutes for the average of 20,000-plus drivers that use the H-1 eastbound between the Middle Street overpass and the Punahou offramp during peak afternoon travel hours of 3 to 6:30 p.m.

A minimal increase in travel times was observed for approximately 2,200 drivers rerouting to other eastbound freeway onramps in the area, such as the Ward Avenue onramp, the analysis found.

The closure is expected to help the flow of traffic in the heavily used corridor, HDOT said, and increase safety by reducing lane merges and weaving between the South Vineyard Boulevard, Ward Avenue and Piikoi Street onramps and the Punahou Street offramp.