HUD Funds Will Make Hilo Drag Strip ADA-Compliant

The county will receive $1 million in federal funding to bring the Hilo Drag Strip into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The funding is part of $2.8 million in Community Development Block Grants provided by the US Department of Housing and Urban Developmentfor various Hawaii County projects.

The drag strip, also known as the Panaewa Drag Strip, opened in 1978 and is operated by the county Department of Parks and Recreation.

The grant will be used to make the parking lot, bathrooms and judging stand ADA-compatible, said department spokesman Jason Armstrong.

Besides a sanctioned quarter-mile drag strip, the facility also features an oval dirt track, motocross track, go-cart track and a mud bog.

Sports-car racing is also held there using a combination of the tracks.

Call for bids will go out in August for the construction phase of the project estimated at $725,000.

The work is anticipated to be completed by April 2015.