ForConstructionPros.com

Road paving on the tiny Hawaiian island of Molokai is generally the same as it is elsewhere in the island chain — or on the mainland, for that matter. What sets it apart from any other paving job, however, occurs during a lane closure and can be seen in the attitude of those forced to wait while oncoming traffic is allowed to pass.

While the overwhelming majority of drivers elsewhere will sit in their vehicles, muttering or cursing the fate that has befallen them, Molokai’s travelers will often get out of their cars and trucks and strike up conversations with other similarly inconvenienced travelers — or with the road crew itself. It’s just one of the many reasons Molokai is said by many to be the friendliest of all islands in the Hawaiian chain.

Such interaction might be occurring a bit more frequently now, as Maui Paving takes on a project to repave a nearly six-mile stretch of the Maunaloa Highway, one of the main east-west thoroughfares on the island. The company is using some newer laser paving technology to move the project along, which, while threatening to shorten this decades-old tradition for some, will ultimately please a whole lot more.

Smooth landings

One of the larger paving companies in the island chain, Maui Paving was formed in 2005 through a merger between Grace Pacific Corporation and Goodfellow Brothers Inc. The company works (under various names) throughout Maui, Molokai and Kauai, most recently completing a repaving of the main airport serving Molokai. According to David Ortega, the firm’s superintendent, that project’s success was affirmed in typical Molokai-like fashion.

“I was on a flight into the island to look into some future business and got to talking with the pilot,” he says. “When he found out what I did for a living, he was extremely grateful for the work we had done. Turns out, pilots appreciate a smooth runway as much as we drivers like a smooth road.”