Zipper Lane
Information
Anyone who commutes to work from central
or Leeward Oahu to Honolulu during morning rush hours knows
there are too few lanes on H-1 to accommodate the number of
cars. However, the lanes going in the opposite direction are
underutilized.
To alleviate morning traffic congestion on
the H-1 Freeway between Managers Drive Overpass and the Pearl
Harbor Interchange, the State Department of Transportation will
implement a new type of contraflow lane in 1998. When the
contraflow is in use, one lane from the outbound (westbound)
direction will be made available to Honolulu-bound high
occupancy vehicles.
This new contraflow configuration (see figure
3), called a ‘Zipper Lane' will utilize a Zipper Machine
(see photo). As it travels west along the contraflow route, the
Zipper Machine will move a string of connected concrete barriers
from their storage area in the median to their Zipper Lane
position.
The
corridor created by the moveable barriers will provide a traffic
lane and a shoulder area, where HOV vehicles can pull over
without interfering with traffic in the contraflow lane.
Emergency vehicles can also use the contraflow/shoulder lanes to
reach their destinations in a shorter time once the Zipper Lane
is established.
The Zipper Lane, for buses, vanpools, and
carpools with three or more occupants, will be deployed each
morning and opened at 5:30 a.m. The existing HOV lane will
continue in operation for cars with two or more occupants.
When the contraflow operation ends at 8:30
a.m. the Zipper Machine will move the barriers back to their
storage place along the median, returning the freeway to its
normal lane configurafion.
Although new to Hawaii, contraflow systems
using moveable barriers have proven successful in metropolitan
areas across the nation, including Boston, Dallas, San Diego,
and New York City. Each of these locations has reported improved
traffic flow during rush hour and increased usage of
ridesharing.
The Zipper Lane offers Hawaii a way to get
much more efficient use of existing highway lanes, without the
disruption and cost of a major construction project. The H-1
Zipper Lane is expected to begin operation in the fall of 1998.
How the Zipper Lane Will Benefit
Leeward/Central Oahu Commuters
Because no new major highways or freeways
are planned for Oahu, solving our island's traffic congestion
will depend on making better use of existing highways. The
implementation of the Zipper Lane will greatly increase the
efficiency of the H-1 Freeway between Managers Drive Overpass
and the Pearl Harbor Interchange.
Saving Time and Money
The Zipper Lane will make an additional
traffic lane available to vehicles traveling toward Honolulu. 
This
alone will help relieve traffic congestion. But to make the
highway truly efficient, the new Zipper Lane must also reduce
the the number of vehicles on the road by encouraging commuters
to take the bus or join a vanpool, carpool, or some other
ridesharing arrangement.
To increase use of high occupancy
vehicles, the new contraflow arrangement will reward commuters
from Leeward and Central Oahu who parficipate in some form of
ridesharing.
For those who take the bus, a vanpool, or
carpool with three or more occupants, the Zipper Lane will offer
many benefits, including time savings. 
For
example, traffic engineers estimate that those who enter the
Zipper Lane at the first entrance near Managers Drive Overpass
will reduce their travel time by approximately 25 minutes.
Commuters who rideshare will also save money on gas and parking
charges, as well as the cost of wear and tear on their personal
vehicles.
Putting More Express Into the
Bus
There is good news for bus riders, too. 
Faster
trips, made possible by the Zipper Lane, will deliver passengers
to their destinations earlier. And because express buses will
finish their routes sooner, it is anticipated that some will be
able to make two trips during the morning rush hour rather than
one. This would give bus riders the option of an early and a
later time to catch the bus, instead of a single early time. Two
trips per route could also mean more room for passengers by
reducing the number of passengers on each bus ride.
The Zipper Lane will increase the
efficiency of the affected portion of H-1 in other ways. It
makes more lanes available to Honolulu-bound traffic. The
existing HOV lone, open to vehicles with two or more occupants,
will continue. And it should move more quickly since many of
vehicles currently using this lane will be diverted to the
Zipper Lane.
Flexibility at a Lower Cost
The Zipper Lane offers a flexible solution
to the current congestion on Leeward H-1, allowing the
Department of Transportation to respond in a timely, cost-effectve
manner to changes in the traffic flow on the freeway. Planners
expect the development of Kapolei and the surrounding area to
eventually increase the number of people working west of Pearl
Harbor. When this occurs, and east-bound and westbound traffic
flows become more balanced, the Zipper Lane can be dismantled
and moved elsewhere.
The price of installing the Zipper Lane
represents a substantial savings over the alternative of
widening the freeway and other expensive canstruction-based
solutions, which typically cost tens of millions of dollars. The
$16 million dollars for the equipment and improvements required
to implement the Zipper Lone represent a fraction of the price
tag on a typical capital improvement project.
Bad News for Cheaters
The Zipper Lane will make enforcement of
HOV regulations much easier. Many motorists have complained
about vehicles occupied by a lone driver illegally using the HOV
lane. Because the Zipper Lane contains both a shoulder area and
a traffic lane, police will be able to pull over violators and
issue citations. The design of the Zipper Lane will also provide
an area near the Pearl Harbor Interchange where HOV violators
can be waved over by the police.
How to Use the Zipper Lane
There are three locatons at which buses,
vanpools and carpools with three or more occupants can enter the
Zipper Lane (see map).
Those traveling toward Honolulu from Waipio and all communities
westward can access the contraflow lane where it begins, near
the Managers Drive Overpass on H-1, before Waikele. For Waikele
and Waipahu residents, the entry point is on the Honolulu side
of Paiwa Street in front of Waikele Shopping Center. The final
entrance is located at the junction of H-1 and H-2, where
central Oahu commuters using H-2 can crossover into the Zipper
Lane.
Those entering at Waikele or H-2 will be
merging with the vehicles already in the Zipper Lane. These
entrances are designed with onramps to enable vehicles to merge
safely with traffic in the contraflow lane (see figure
1).
Once in the contraflow lane, vehicles
cannot return to regular Honolulu-bound portion of the freeway
until the Zipper Lane ends at the Pearl Harbor Interchange,
immediately before the H-1 Airport Viaduct.
Even though the Zipper Lane ends, the HOV
lane will continue as the inside shoulder lane next to the
median on the Honolulu-bound side of the H-1 Viaduct (see figure
4 and figure
2). This lane will still be restricted to vehicles with
three or more occupants.
This configuration will continue until the
Keehi Interchange at the end of the viaduct, where vanpools and
carpools will have three choices. They may (1) exit using the
HOV ramp to Nimitz Highway (2) merge with traffic going to
Dillingham Boulevard or (3) continue on H-1 and merge with
Moanalua Freeway traffic at Middle Street.
RIDESHARE
INFO
LOTMA: 696-RIDE (696-7433)
VANPOOL HAWAII: 596-VANS (596-8267)
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