LIHU‘E — The state’s share of the Wailua Emergency Bypass funding, secured in 2009, might finally come to Kaua‘i after being held up by two governors, the Kaua‘i County Council was told. The road is kept locked and is only
LIHU‘E — The state’s share of the Wailua Emergency Bypass funding, secured in 2009, might finally come to Kaua‘i after being held up by two governors, the Kaua‘i County Council was told. The road is kept locked and is only used to deviate traffic from Kuhio Highway during a major accident.
State Sen. Ron Kouchi, D-Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau, and Rep. Derek Kawakami, D-14th District, appeared Wednesday before county council members to say that Gov. Neil Abercrombie now wants to release the money, but it will have to be approved by this year’s Legislature.
Kouchi said he, Kawakami and Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, D-15th District (all three are former council members), are involved in making sure the state funds will come to Kaua‘i.
In 2009, state legislators were able to secure $950,000 from the state to repair the road. The Kaua‘i County Council matched that funding and added an extra $50,000 to conduct a project study.
Former Gov. Linda Lingle denied the funds citing budgetary constraints. When Abercrombie took office, one of the first things he did was deny the funds. Since then he has apparently changed his mind, according to Kaua‘i’s state legislators.
Kaua‘i residents and visitors did “a really good job” at convincing Abercrombie, Kouchi said.
The other holdup involves the letter E. Abercrombie sits with his hands tied due to a change of the funding source in 2010, when the money was moved from C-funds (General Obligation Bond fund) to E-funds (Revenue Bond fund), which can be used for state highways, but not county projects.
Half the project is on state lands, and Abercrombie in a letter dated Jan. 27 denying the funds said the bypass would “allow traffic to deviate around Kuhio Highway when the highway is impassable due to major traffic accidents.”
Kouchi told council members that “obviously” the emergency bypass relieves the problem that occurs when an accident happens on the state highway, and that’s a justification to fund it.
Locked behind metal gates, the Wailua Emergency Bypass is off limits to Kaua‘i residents and visitors — unless a major accident between Wailua and Hanama‘ulu prompts authorities to close Kuhio Highway and open the bypass.
Potholes and a lack of safety features have rendered the bypass dangerous. It can take 20 minutes or longer to travel the two-mile road.
County Managing Director Gary Heu on Wednesday said that with $1.9 million in funds, the road will not be nicely paved. The money is just enough to cover existing potholes, install guardrails and other safety features such as signage, he said.
Even if there was money to build a nicely paved road, it would be cost-prohibitive for a project destined to be merely an emergency road, he said.
Council Chair Jay Furfaro has repeatedly criticized the administration, specifically Heu, for not using the $50,000 the county had appropriated for a study on the project.
On Wednesday, after Furfaro interrupted Heu’s testimony to say his patience was running out, Heu told the chair it wasn’t until recently that the administration found out they weren’t going to be able to obtain the state funds. Until learning this, the administration had planned on using county and state funds combined to come up with one project, Heu said.
Heu said the administration can determine the cost of the project without hiring a consultant.
“We have the expertise in house that can make some of those recommendations,” Heu said, adding that he didn’t want to give the impression the administration is not concerned with the issue.
Questioned further by Furfaro and Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, who wanted a plan so the county could market and sell the idea to the state Legislature, Heu said he asked the county engineer to begin looking at costs. In two weeks, the administration will be able to tell the council when a plan for the project will be ready, he said.
Heu also said the administration is looking into alternative uses for the bypass once it is improved, such as a multi-use path whenever the bypass is not being used as an emergency route.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
