A 700-foot stretch of the H-1 Freeway will be closed tonight for repaving, the state Transportation Department said yesterday.

All east-bound lanes between the Middle Street overpass and the Likelike Highway off-ramp will be shut between 9 p.m. and 4:30 a.m., officials said.

The work is being done to fix problems along a stretch of road that was repaved about a year ago.

The state experimented with three different paving mixes during the initial work to determine which was the most durable. The stretch of roadway paved with the least expensive mixture has deteriorated rapidly and needs to be replaced, said DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

"We don't know if it was a problem with the road itself or if we got a bad batch of mix," Ishikawa said. The state will use the same kind of paving mix but apply it several inches thicker to accommodate heavy freeway traffic, he said.

"It's very unusual for the paving to break down so quickly, so for the sake of the long-term experiment, we decided to use it again to see how it holds up."

The two more expensive paving mixtures used on other portions of the freeway have held up much better and do not require repair work, Ishikawa said.

Engineers hope to have the work done by tomorrow morning. But if more time is needed to complete the job, the freeway lanes could be closed tomorrow night and early Friday morning, Ishikawa said.

State officials have not yet determined if the cost of the new work will be covered under the original contract, Ishikawa said.

During the repaving, the DOT advises motorists to use the H-1 Freeway eastbound Airport Viaduct or exit Moanalua Freeway at the Pu'uloa Road off-ramp.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.