LAHAINA, Maui — Some motorists who live or work in West Maui will need convincing that construction of the long-delayed bypass road mauka of Honoapi'ilani Highway is going to start soon — for real.

It's been 35 years since the state Department of Transportation started talking about an alternate route to relieve traffic on the two-lane highway, the only viable link between Lahaina and the rest of the island. The state even condemned a number of homes more than a decade ago to make way for the project, which will cost in excess of $100 million. But still there was no construction.

A DOT meeting Wednesday at the Lahaina Civic Center will provide proof that the $48 million Phase 1A will break ground in August. Theo Morrison, executive director of Lahaina Bypass Now, a community group formed last year to spur the project and other traffic solutions, said it's important West Maui residents attend the meeting to learn about the work and how traffic will be impacted during construction.

"This is really for real. This is exciting news," Morrison said. "We have been told so many times (the project would start) that a lot of people are still in denial. I've been the cheerleader getting people to believe this is really happening."

The Phase 1A "mini-bypass" is a two-lane segment from Lahainaluna Road to the future Keawe Street extension that includes a bridge over Kahoma Stream. The project is expected to improve traffic circulation in the Lahaina and Lahainaluna areas.

Phase 1B, priced at $44 million for construction and land acquisition, will continue the new road south toward Launiupoko. Work on that segment is expected to begin in fiscal year 2008-09, according to DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa. The final phase will extend the bypass north toward Ka'anapali.

Mark Ellman, who owns three Lahaina restaurants, is wary of reports the bypass is finally getting under way. When a brushfire or car crash closes Honoapi'ilani Highway, his employees can't get to work and he often has to close early because patrons are stuck in traffic "or they get so frustrated they just want to go home."

"I'm sure whoever decided to put three schools on Lahainaluna Road had good intentions, but at 7:30 or 8 in the morning Honoapi'ilani Highway looks like New York City with everybody trying to get up and down Lahainaluna Road at the same time and people trying to get to work," Ellman said.

Ellman's office manager, Cindy Beadles, commutes more than 50 miles daily from Spreckelsville. "Every afternoon you have no idea what you are going to encounter. Any hint of a fire or some other mishap starts a wave of panic through everybody," Beadles said.

She said motorists don't know whether to stay put, leave early to beat a possible road closure, or flee town via Kahekili Highway, a winding cliffside road that narrows in places to a single lane.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.