Road work projects scheduled to begin at HVNP

Visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park might face temporary road closures this week as pavement repair work begins throughout the park.

Several road projects within HVNP will take place as part of an ongoing pavement rehabilitation project that will continue through October. The work will partially or completely close certain roads and parking lots at certain times. On Monday and Tuesday, the Pu‘upua‘i Parking Lot and Devastation Trail will be entirely closed to all traffic, although the Devastation Trail parking lot will remain open.

Meanwhile, from Tuesday to the end of next week, road repairs will take place at various locations on Crater Rim Drive, but through traffic will still be possible. HVNP advises drivers to follow all signs and instructions.

Later in the month, parking at Kilauea Overlook will be limited, as workers repair the lot between May 10 and 11.

Two additional projects that began last month will continue until the first of June. Hilina Pali Road will remain closed to all traffic between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, while the Kulanaokuaiki Campground will remain entirely closed to everyone.

Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said there will be additional road closures on Mauna Loa Road at dates yet to be determined. That project, which will take place between Highway 11 and Kipukapuaulu, will continue over a few weeks, and will halt all traffic.

None of the road work projects are in response to lingering infrastructure damage caused by the 2018 Kilauea eruption, Ferracane said, but are instead part of a regularly scheduled maintenance cycle. The first projects were intended to begin a few months ago, she said, but were slightly delayed for funding reasons.

The collective cost of the projects is about $6.54 million in funding from the Federal Highway Administration.

Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.