Hawaii County still doesn’t have a time line for when work on the Lako Street extension may begin.
Public Works Director Warren Lee said this week workers continue to discover archaeological features, and the county is still trying to complete land acquisition.
“It’s not really ready to go yet,” Lee said.
The archaeological features discovered so far don’t seem to be enough to prohibit the road from being built, he added.
Lee said the county does not yet have an estimated cost for the project, which entails building an 1,855-foot extension of Lako Street to Alii Drive, providing another mauka-makai connector in the densely populated area. A presentation about various West Hawaii road projects, made earlier this year and available on the county’s website, shows a $6 million estimate.
Just before Mayor Billy Kenoi took office, in late 2008, former Public Works Director Bruce McClure told West Hawaii residents he would be recommending the incoming administration shelve the project. McClure, in November 2008, estimated an 18-month to two-year delay.
County officials began meeting with West Hawaii residents in late 2007 in an attempt to address community concerns about the proposed extension.
The extension would connect Kuakini Highway and Alii Drive, providing an additional emergency evacuation route.
Lako Street now ends at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity. When completed, the extension would emerge at Holualoa Bay on the north side of the Kona Palms apartment complex. County maps acknowledge that the area, known as Holualoa 3rd and 4th, contains a concentration of archaeological sites. The massive Keakealaniwahine complex dominates the adjoining lot and Hikapaia heiau, or temple, sits on the Kobayashi property. There are also walls and other features on the property.
The county has planned to extend Lako since at least 2000, when an environmental assessment was undertaken. The final EA was completed in fall 2004, with a finding of no significant impact.
Lee said his department’s primary focus, right now, is the Laaloa Avenue extension. The county has funds for that project via a capital improvements bond. The county is in the process of acquiring four parcels of land for the extension, all through condemnation. Lee told West Hawaii residents at the April 10 Kona Town Meeting three of those condemnations were proceeding, while the county was having a hard time finding an owner to serve papers on for the fourth condemnation.
“Hopefully before the end of this year we can get it out to bid,” Lee said at the meeting. “The drawings are done.”
Lee estimated the top portion of the Laaloa work would cost about $14 million, leaving about $5 million for the lower portion.