WAILUA — Lately, a lot of construction activity has been going on around Wailua Beach. The bulk of it is due to the county getting ready to lay out the most controversial stretch of the Ke Ala Hele Makalae, or
WAILUA — Lately, a lot of construction activity has been going on around Wailua Beach. The bulk of it is due to the county getting ready to lay out the most controversial stretch of the Ke Ala Hele Makalae, or the path that goes by the coast.
After years of planning and community battles over the location of a multi-use path along Wailua Beach, the administration is moving forward with the project’s Phase III, which connects Lydgate to Kapa‘a. The entire path is supposed to eventually link Nawiliwili to Anahola.
County spokeswoman Mary Daubert said Wednesday the Wailua Beach portion of the path runs from the Kuamo‘o Road and Kuhio Highway intersection to the north end of Wailua Beach.
“The makai edge of the path will be 11 feet makai of the current white shoulder striping on the beach side of Kuhio Highway,” Daubert said in an email. “The work on this segment will entail removing the permanent rock wall structure from its current location on the beach, and erecting a removable temporary wall between the makai edge of the highway and the path.”
This new removable, temporary wall is intended to provide protection for path users and also to protect the highway against storm debris, she said.
“The path will be constructed along this stretch as a temporary structure, which can be removed if necessary due to erosion,” Daubert said.
The small stretch of Kuhio Highway by Wailua Beach is arguably one of the most problematic areas on the island.
Facing almost the entire length of Wailua Beach, the partly charred remains of the once majestic Coco Palms Hotel is now an eyesore to island visitors and residents. The hotel, featured in Elvis Presley’s “Blue Hawai‘i” movie, has gone through several ownership and permit extensions since Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992. But it has never reopened and now needs to be demolished if another hotel is to be put there.
North of Wailua Beach, the old Shell Restaurant was another casualty from ‘Iniki, and the decaying building has been collecting dust since then.
Also north of Wailua Beach, a couple of manholes from the county’s sewer system coming from Kapa‘a and Wailua Houselots overflow is creating a foul smell that businesses and residents have been tolerating for many years. Despite attempts from the administration to address the problem, the smell continues.
Sewer odors also plagued the area at the other end of Wailua Beach, by Lydgate Beach Park. The tradewinds carry the foul smell from the Wailua Wastewater Treatment Plant at Lydgate and spread it as far as the highway.
Adding to all that, the sand at Wailua Beach has eroded so severely in the last year that in the middle of the beach the sand is almost all gone. Much of the sand that was once there is now packed around the bridge.
County Parks and Recreation Director Lenny Rapozo said two months ago at a council meeting that what is happening in Wailua Beach is no different than what happened in 1975, and hopefully southern storms and swells will bring the sand back to the beach.
Cultural, historical, religious legacy
Wailua is considered to be rich in Native Hawaiian cultural, religious and historical sites, which have prompted protests, arrests and legal battles. There are at least seven ancient Hawaiian heiau in the area near the beach and the river.
Thousands of drivers go by Wailua Bridge daily, unsuspecting that just south of the bridge, mauka of Kuhio Highway, sits the island’s largest known heiau, the Malae Heiau, now hidden by invasive vegetation. This large heiau occupies a little more than two acres.
Makai of the highway, there is the Hikinaakala Heiau, a heiau for those who broke the kapu in ancient days.
On the north side of the bridge there is the Kalaeokamanu Heiau, and a little ways up Kuamo‘o Road there is the Poli‘ahu Heiau, which is also a large heiau, occupying more than an acre.
There are at least three other known heiau along Wailua River.
Native Hawaiians have opposed the bicycle path along the beach, and have continually asked the administration not to build it there. Surveys have been unable to unearth burials along the beach, but near the bathrooms by the boat ramp at Wailua River, bones were found by tractors digging to build a septic tank.
Native Hawaiians have protested against public bathrooms on top of ancient burials, and their efforts to stop construction have been met by arrests and criminal prosecution.
