PUHI — Lihu‘e residents will not be shopping for groceries at a long-planned Safeway location in Puhi anytime soon, according to Safeway Director of Public and Government Affairs Susan Houghton. The earliest the California-based store is expected to “realistically” open
PUHI — Lihu‘e residents will not be shopping for groceries at a long-planned Safeway location in Puhi anytime soon, according to Safeway Director of Public and Government Affairs Susan Houghton.
The earliest the California-based store is expected to “realistically” open is 2012, as construction has been delayed until March.
“It won’t open up until after the highway project,” Houghton said regarding the state Department of Transportation’s widening project on Kaumuali‘i Highway.
“The widening project would affect the entire frontal section,” Houghton said. “We need to get a better idea of the DOT’s timeline before we can solidify our project at this point.”
DOT officials said their ongoing work should not be blamed for Safeway’s delay.
“(Our) project does not have direct impact on the development of the Safeway store,” DOT spokeswoman Tammy Mori said Friday.
“The involvement that we have with the Safeway store is limited to constructing intersection improvements as we widen the highway,” Mori said.
The DOT has been working with a consultant from Safeway in order to facilitate a smooth project with the intersection work needed for the new Safeway store in Lihu‘e and is currently working with the contractor to “provide the design details needed,” Mori said.
“At the present time our plan is for the Safeway intersection work to be done at the same time as our highway work in the area, thereby minimizing impacts to the public,” she said.
Relocation of utility lines is expected to begin in February.
“Once this work is completed the contractor will be able to start on the roadway widening,” Mori said.
It is anticipated that the contractor will begin work on the highway in late March or early April, she added. The project will take 18 months to complete.
