Hawai‘i County in process of contracting with firm to conduct Puna Alternate Routes Study

Hawai‘i County is in the process of contracting with a consulting firm to perform a study about alternate road access in Puna that would alleviate the district’s longstanding traffic congestion and provide an evacuation route when natural disasters strike.

On Thursday, the Hawai‘i County Council Communications, Reports and Council Oversight Committee received an update from Public Works Director Steve Pause about the $2 million study that the council approved in Bill 131 in February.

The goal of the study is to determine where other routes mauka (mountainside) and makai (oceanside) of Highway 130 could be placed.

The county has received $1 million from the state for the study and is in the process of allotting the county match of $1 million, Pause said.

The county also has selected a professional services consultant and have asked them to prepare a proposal for a work scope, fee proposal and schedule. The county expects to hear back from the firm by Nov. 25.

Because the county hasn’t officially contracted with the firm, Pause said he could not disclose the name. But he said it was a good firm that the county has worked with in the past.

Once the county examines the firm’s proposal, and both parties are in agreement, then a contract would be signed and the study could begin. It is likely to take about 15 to 18 months.

Pause reiterated that the community would have opportunities to continue conversations about the study, saying the scope of the firm’s work would involve developing and reaching out directly to community associations and developing steering committees to help guide the process.

“At this point right now, generally speaking, the makai portion of the route will go between Nanawale Estates and Ho‘olaulima Road, where the landfill is,” he said. “And then the anticipated mauka portion of the route would be between Ainaloa Drive and Pu‘ainako.”

The study will exclude parcels under the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands jurisdiction, which was a major sticking point for members of the Keaukaha and Pana‘ewa homestead communities in Hilo and several Council members on a similar funding bill that was previously voted down.

During a January council meeting, members of those Hawaiian homesteads expressed concern about the impacts a new road going through their communities, noting they’ve experienced injustice by their lands having to bear the burden of hosting the Hilo International Airport, the Hilo Landfill, a transfer station and a raceway park.

The Hawaiian homestead communities also had concerns about traffic already speeding along Railroad Avenue and other issues.

Through the course of the study, Pause said the scope of the work will involve an analysis of traffic and its impact. There also will be environmental discussions around archaeological and endangered species.

Pause said he thinks the mauka route would be something to try. It would take traffic directly to Saddle Road, also known as Daniel K. Inouye Highway.

“I think there’s a tie-in to decreasing traffic as well as providing quicker and faster and more efficient access into Hilo for all services, from public safety to workforce development to school, whatever it might be,” Councilmember Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said.

Councilmember Ashley Kierkiewicz, who represents lower Puna communities, said: “I don’t want roads that are not feasible in the sense that we’re not going to be having willing landowners to negotiate with the county.”

Jordan Epperson, director of the Hawaiian Acres Road Committee, testified during the committee in favor of continuing the conversation about the roads study.

“Puna definitely needs alternate routes,” said Epperson, a Hawaiian Acres resident. “I’m there every day working in Puna and watching the traffic problem evolve over the years. And the development in lower Puna, we’ve needed an alternate route there for a very long time.”