LIHU’E — Work on the long-awaited Lihu’e Gateway Beautification Project could begin next month if the state Department of Transportation issues a notice to Kaua’i Nursery & Landscaping Inc. to begin work on the $5 million landscaping project to beautify
LIHU’E — Work on the long-awaited Lihu’e Gateway Beautification Project could
begin next month if the state Department of Transportation issues a notice to
Kaua’i Nursery & Landscaping Inc. to begin work on the $5 million
landscaping project to beautify roads leading to the Lihu’e Airport.
The
project calls for thousands of plants, trees, flowers and grass to be planted
along Ahukini Road and Kapule Highway.
The project has been in the planning
stages for five years and is expected to be completed in about 300 working days
unless bad weather causes delays.
It will be developed with $4 million in
federal funds and $1 million in in-kind community funds.
Under a DOT
contract awarded in January, Kaua’i Nursery will plant coconut palms, Formosa
koa trees, Manila palms, Hong Kong orchids, Queen Emma spider lily shrubs,
princess shrubs, Ti bushes, ground cover and others plants and flowers.
An
irrigation system will be installed.
The Urban Youth Corps Program, a
federally-funded program to help economically disadvantaged youths, will
provide workers for the project.
The DOT has a contract with the University
of Hawai’i to provide Kauai Nursery with workers for the project, which will
provide on-the-job training for youths and young adults ranging between 19 and
25 years of age.
Through the county’s Ho’olokahi Program, volunteer groups
also are expected to help support the project. At one point, 160 groups had
offered to provide volunteer help.
Different organizations will sign up to
take care of the lots, said Rudy Raralio, an area engineer with the DOT
Highways Division office on Kaua’i.
