Beauty of a project is finished

Government money and volunteers made $5 million Lihu’e Gateway happen

A year after the $5 million Lihu’e Gateway beautification got under way, Eddie Sarita is breathing a deep sigh of relief.

The project that involved installation of an irrigation system, the planting of thousands of flowers, shrubs and trees beside roads leading to Lihu’e Airport, and the juggling of 1,000 volunteers is over.

“We finished on time, just as it was projected,” said Sarita, coordinator of the Ho’olokahi program, through which a small army of volunteers was pulled together for the massive project.

The undertaking involved landscaping a one-mile stretch of Ahukini Road from the airport to Kuhio Highway and another two miles of road along Kapule Highway.

Volunteers worked side by side with crews from Kaua’i Nursery and Landscaping, which won the multi-million dollar state contract for the work.

With completion of the project, visitors are treated to flowering trees, bushes and groundcover foliage after leaving the airport to island destinations, Sarita said.

And residents can demonstrate the “spirit of aloha” as volunteer caretakers of the landscaped corridors, he said.

“This is the garden island, and this project reflects on us,” Sarita said. “I have had many compliments from visitors and residents on the project. It will benefit the entire island.”

The project was developed with $4 million in federal funds and $1 million in in-kind community contributions.

Kaua’i Nursery and Landscaping, the island’s largest landscaping firm, began work last June with the installation of an irrigation system.

The work also involved concrete rubble masonry walls, landscape lighting, storm water runoff systems, three entry wall signs and traffic control, and the planting of large trees and coconut trees and grass on roadside slopes.

Volunteers planted 160,000 plants, including Hong Kong orchids, Queen Emma spider lily shrubs, princess shrubs and Ti bushes. The contributions of the volunteers saved about $35,000 in labor cost, Sarita said.

The federal government would not have allocated $4 million for the project if the volunteer help was not offered by the county.

Between now and January of next year, Kaua’i Nursery will maintain the landscaped areas. From that point on, volunteers, businesses and organizations will be responsible for maintaining 112 plots within the project for two years.

The volunteers and organizations include Big Save stores, hotels, schools, restaurants, First Hawaiian Bank and Bank of Hawai’i, helicopter companies and Kaua’i Outdoor Circle.

Rock walls with welcome messages at the intersection of Kapule Highway and Ahukini Road will also be maintained by the community. The Kaua’i Filipino Council will take care of the wall bearing the “aloha” sign, the Kaua’i Marriott Resort will take care of the the “mahalo” sign, and Rotary clubs will take care of a third wall.

The state Department of Transportation plans to build a fourth rock wall with a water feature, Sarita said.

A party is planned at Kaua’i War Memorial Convention Hall this summer for the volunteers.

Sarita praised Mayor Maryanne Kusaka for starting the Ho’olokahi program, which employs volunteers for the development of community projects like the Gateway project.

County Councilman Bryan Baptiste, the first coordinator of the Ho’olokahi program, also pushed along the project, which was five years in the making.

The county secured the $4 million federal grant with the help of a beautification advisory committee consisting of Kaua’i Nursery, Mike Furukawa, Dorothy Bekeart, Nina Magoun, the Kaua’i Outdoor Circle, Beryl Moir, Rudy Raralio of the state Department of Transportation, Ed Petteys of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Margy Parker of the Po’ipu Beach Resort Association, Bob Grinpas, Jim Armstrong, Ed Matsukawa of Kaua’i Island Tours, Roger Cable of Senter Petroleum Inc. and Ed McDowell of Vision Properties Inc.

Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net