State funding lapses for Puna road study to find another route for evacuations, growing traffic

State funding of $1 million that was approved in 2022 for the Puna Makai Alternate Route feasibility study has lapsed, further delaying the much-needed development of a road to alleviate traffic and provide another evacuation route for the growing population of the area south of Hilo.

“This funding was critical to identifying and planning an alternate route for Puna residents, to alleviate traffic, as well as create an alternate route to escape Puna in case of a natural disaster,” said Rep. Greggor Ilagan, who represents several communities in Puna. “Yet, due to county inaction, we are now back at square one.”

The funding expired on June 30, the end of the last fiscal year, because Hawai’i County failed to release its required $500,000 million match for the study, which would have triggered the release of state funding, Ilagan said.

It was not until January, during the first week of the Hawai‘i State legislative hearings, that Ilagan said he was informed about the lapse.

A year ago, the Hawai‘i County Council initially failed to pass Bill 107, the study’s original funding measure submitted by the county administration, which would have accepted the state’s $1 million, which Ilagan was able to get allocated as a line item in the state budget in 2021.

It also would have allocated $500,000 from county coffers for the Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works to manage the study, whose goal was to determine where other routes mauka (mountainside) and makai (oceanside) of Highway 130 could be placed.

Only council members Ashley Kierkiewicz and Jenn Kagiwada voted for the bill. Council members Holeka Inaba, Michell Galimba, Heather Kimball, Rebecca Villegas and former Council member Sue Lee Loy voted against its passage. Council member Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, who represents portions of Puna, was absent.

Currently, Highway 130 is the only state highway connecting lower Puna to Hilo, which results in ongoing traffic congestion and concerns over the lack of emergency routes for residents living in the lava inundation zones.

The council ultimately passed its own Bill 131 in March 2024, three months before the funding would expire. This bill accepted the state funding and increased the county’s match to $1 million, because it broadened the scope of the study.

The new bill also excluded possible routes that would go through parcels under the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands jurisdiction but opened it up to the entire Puna area. For several council members, and some people in the Keaukaha and Pana‘ewa homestead communities in Hilo, that had been a major sticking point in the bill that had been voted down.

Panaʻewa and Keaukaha residents say the communities have already been burdened with the Hilo International Airport, Hilo Landfill and transfer station, a raceway park and traffic speeding down Railroad Avenue.

“We do not need a freeway from Pāhoa to Hilo through our community or Hawaiian Home Lands trust lands,” Angie Alonzo said in written testimony against Bill 107.

But in the 48 town hall meetings Ilagan has held in his district over the past four years, the lawmaker said the Puna Makai Alternate Route was the most voted-for issue.

Ilagan said he believed the funding was accepted after the council passed the bill in March, noting the previous administration informed him it was onto the next step: awarding the contract for the study.

“Here I am, trusting that everything is good since they upped the match to $1 million,” Ilagan said Tuesday.

Ilagan blamed the lapse of the funding on the prior administration under Mayor Mitch Roth and the Hawai‘i County Council, saying he now must reapply for the $1 million during this legislative session.

Instead of fixing the issue, Ilagan said the County Council introduced another bill to conduct a broader Puna-wide study, diluting efforts to move forward specifically on the Puna Makai Alternate Route.

“This not only delays much-needed projects but also creates uncertainty about whether this year’s request will be successful,” Ilagan said. “It’s a missed opportunity for the district, forcing us to restart the process with no guarantee of approval.”

On Tuesday, Roth said the county was ready to move forward with the study when the council failed to pass the initial funding bill in January.

But after that, Roth said: “I’m not sure exactly what happened.”

In November 2024, the council even heard an update regarding this contract from the former Director of Public Works Steve Pause, who told them the county had selected a professional services consultant and asked them to prepare a proposal for a work scope, fee proposal and schedule.

The county expected to hear back from the firm by Nov. 25. Because the county hadn’t officially contracted with the firm, Pause told the council at that time he could not disclose the name. But he said it was a good firm that the county has worked with in the past.

Pause delivered this update despite the state funds having already lapsed.

“This lapse did not happen due to miscommunication or procedural delays,” Ilagan said. “It was the direct result of decisions made by the County Council. Their unwillingness to commit to the Puna Makai Alternate Route, and their neglect to properly allocate the funding is why we are now facing this setback.”

Kierkiewicz, who represents portions of Puna, introduced the second funding bill for the study. On Tuesday, she expressed deep frustration over Ilagan’s public statement saying he hadn’t reached out to her office to address the funding lapse.

“I honestly don’t know what happened,” Kierkiewicz said. “Somebody dropped the ball along the way. I was assured work was moving forward, and I’m not able to get answers.”

The councilwoman went on to say she didn’t appreciate Ilagan calling out the council, describing Bill 107 as problematic since it didn’t address the concerns of Native Hawaiians living on homestead lands.

“I’m going to chalk this up to a lack of clear process that keeps this moving forward,” Kierkiewicz said. “I think there’s room for improvement on both sides. Clearly, there weren’t enough checkpoints along the way to move this along. I think there needs to be much more accountability of kuleana (responsibility) moving forward.”

New mayor Kimo Alameda, who took office in December 2024, said Tuesday his administration is aware of the funding lapse.

“We understand the importance of this project for Puna, and we are currently seeking a reappropriation from the state Department of Transportation as well as reviewing all our options for moving this study forward,” he said.