The state Department of Transportation advises O'ahu motorists that the H-1 Freeway Zipper Lane will be deployed at 5 p.m. today for overnight repaving work on H-1 Freeway in the west-bound direction between Paiwa Street and Kunia Road in the Waikele/Waipahu area.

Crews will begin deploying the Zipper Lane at 5 p.m. along the H-1 airport viaduct and are expected to reach the Waikele area shortly before 9 p.m.

The early deployment of the Zipper Lane will separate crews from freeway traffic as they work on part of a pavement resurfacing project from Waipahu to Waikele. Work will be done from 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. The Zipper Lane then will open to morning rush-hour traffic as usual at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Nightly roadwork, with no early Zipper Lane deployment, will resume tomorrow night through Friday morning, from 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.

This "pavement preservation" project will resurface all lanes along the 1.83-mile stretch of H-1 Freeway between Waipahu Street and the Waikele Stream Bridge, and also includes the on- and off-ramps at the Paiwa Interchange and the east-bound Waipahu off-ramp.

Contractor Grace Pacific Corp. is scheduled to complete the $4.6 million project in June.

Pavement preservation projects help extend the lifespan of roadway surfaces by repaving the top layer of asphalt before there is subsequent damage to the road foundation.

This helps prevent more extensive and expensive future repaving work, transportation officials said.