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Amala Place paving shuts lane, affects businesses

The mauka lane of Amala Place from Hobron Avenue to the Wailuku-Kahului Wastewater Treatment Plant has been closed since Monday for asphalt concrete paving, according to contractor Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co.

An official with Hawaiian Dredging said Tuesday that the company hoped to begin paving today and have the lane open by the weekend. On Wednesday morning, Hawaiian Dredging crews were laying the foundation for the paving.

With the lane closed during the entire construction period, traffic on the Kanaha Beach Park-bound lane has been detoured at the treatment plant on one side and at the Amala Place-Hobron Avenue intersection on the other. Cash n’ Carry Warehouse has opened an entrance to its parking lot off Hobron Avenue.

The Kahului-bound lane has remained open.

Next week, the makai-bound lane will be closed and Kahului-bound traffic detoured, the Hawaiian Dredging official said. The repaved mauka-bound lane will be open for traffic toward Kanaha Beach Park.

The decision to close the road, which was rutted and full of potholes, was aimed at doing the job as quickly as possible, the Hawaiian Dredging official said. Hawaiian Dredging asks motorists in the area to exercise caution in the work zone and to expect delays.

But, as in the case of Cash n’ Carry, the work has caused disruptions to businesses on Amala Place.

Sheri Pell, manager of Aloha Recycling, one of the businesses impacted by the lane closures, said the recycling company will be closed until June 13, the expected end of the project.

“We’ll most likely be closed (until June 13), but we’re playing it by ear,” she said Tuesday.

On Monday and Tuesday, the business will “most likely” open its other location at the University of Hawaii Maui College, which is normally open only Wednesday to Saturday.

Pell has contacted bigger clients, such as Haleakala National Park and Teens On Call, to notify them of the possible closures and the possible opening of the UH-Maui College location. All clients have been instructed to call on the day of plans for recycling at 871-8544 to see which location is open, Pell said.

She added that Reynolds Recycling, another Amala Place business, also will be closed when Aloha Recycling is closed in an agreement between the two companies.

“Hopefully, the closure will not impact business,” she said. “The great news is they’re actually going to be repaving the road correctly. . . . The bad news is us, Cash ‘n Carry and other businesses are a little put out.

“I think once it’s done, all the businesses and drivers will be happy.”

* Eileen Chao can be reached at echao@mauinews.com. Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com.

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