WAILUA — In a ceremony honoring Kaua‘i’s late mayor — a personal accolade everyone agreed he would have resisted — the state Department of Transportation on Tuesday broke ground on the $30 million Wailua Cane Haul Bridge Widening Project, naming
WAILUA — In a ceremony honoring Kaua‘i’s late mayor — a personal accolade everyone agreed he would have resisted — the state Department of Transportation on Tuesday broke ground on the $30 million Wailua Cane Haul Bridge Widening Project, naming both bridges spanning the Wailua River for Bryan J. Baptiste.
“It is such a tribute that he would have never envisioned,” his emotional widow, Annette, said during the dedication ceremony. “He only had the good of the people in mind.”
Gov. Linda Lingle said the Baptiste bridge complex would be a “fitting monument” to a man whom she always admired for “his deep love for the people of Kaua‘i.”
“I know he would be honored to know the bridge bears his name,” Lingle said, “but happier to know … it will reduce traffic” and make life better for the island’s residents. She also said the 100 to 150 local jobs that will be created by the bridge’s construction will help combat rampant unemployment that would “break his heart.”
Before his unexpected death — Monday marked exactly one year since his passing — Baptiste was instrumental in making the vision of dual two-lane bridges across the Wailua river a reality. In a written statement, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono said Baptiste was the “driving force behind this project.”
DOT Director Brennon Morioka, who said the department does not take naming facilities after people lightly, said Baptiste’s involvement was “indisputable” and told of how the mayor had famously “locked us in a room and we hammered out a lot of the issues.”
The bridge-widening is just one part of a broader project designed to diminish traffic congestion between Kapa‘a and Lihu‘e — the island’s worst bottleneck. For 14 months starting in July, Unlimited Builders, LLC, and various local subcontractors will work to replace the existing makai-side one-lane northbound cane haul bridge with a two-lane bridge complete with an extension of the multi-use path.
Before the old bridge is taken down, the existing mauka-side, two-lane, two-way bridge will have one of its sidewalks removed to allow a third lane of traffic to flow on it. During construction, morning rush-hour contraflow operations will continue, according to a press release.
Unlimited Builders Chairman Peter Robson said depending on shift assignments and the possibility of evening work, the makai-side bridge could be unavailable for somewhere between two and five months toward the end of the project next year.
Federal highway funds will cover 80 percent of the total project cost of $29.9 million, with state funds covering the remaining 20 percent, a release said.
Because of the heavy involvement of the federal government with the project, remarks were also made by Abraham Wong, division administrator for the Federal Highway Administration, and Ron Sakoda, Kaua‘i liaison for U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.
“We would not be here today … without (Baptiste’s) public service,” Sakoda said, reading a letter from Inouye. Wong said the project symbolized Baptiste’s leadership.
Before Baptiste took the idea to the state’s congressional delegation, it was brought to him by the Kapa‘a Business Association and former DOT District Engineer Steve Kyono, Bob Bartolo of the association’s Traffic Committee said in an interview.
Speakers said the dedication and the wide range of attending dignitaries from various government agencies and community entities served as a reminder of Baptiste’s way of bringing various parties together in the hopes of getting things done, an approach since adopted by long-time friend and successor Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
“(He had) a good heart, a good spirit, he was feisty at times and persistent,” Carvalho said of Baptiste. “It wasn’t about taking credit, it was about helping the community. … It’s about the relationships.
“This is a great honor to our dear mayor.”
