State Department of Transportation officials say they are progressing toward a start date, possibly by the end of this year, for the Queen Kaahumanu Highway widening project.
The project has been on hold for several years, most recently when officials attempted to realign the right-of-way to have fewer impacts on archaeological resources. That change meant revisiting a number of state and federal reviews before work could begin.
“Behind the scenes work continues as the Hawaii DOT pushes forward on the Queen Kaahumanu Phase II project,” spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter said in an email this week. “The Hawaii DOT is still working out environmental and permitting issues which include the re-evaluation of the Environmental Assessment, results of a noise study, resubmitting archaeological reports for the State Historic Preservation Division and a south segment redesign to reduce impact for mitigation measures.”
Sluyter said if all goes well, they could begin the $80 million widening project, by the end of 2014.
“However, as the process is ongoing we cannot state a definitive start date at this time,” she said, thanking West Hawaii residents for their patience as they await the project.
The work, the second planned phase, will expand Queen Kaahumanu Highway from two to four lanes between Kealakehe Parkway and Kona International Airport. The DOT first awarded the project to Goodfellow Bros. in 2008.
Several bid protests by unsuccessful contractors were followed by concerns about burials and other archaeological sites discovered on the highway expansion route. The DOT awarded the project to Goodfellow Bros.
The federal government is providing the bulk of the funding for the work. Federal rules require consultation with Native Hawaiians and addressing any concerns they have about impacts the construction could have on burials and other archaeological sites. Several Hawaiian groups noted a number of potential impacts, a federal official said at a meeting in Kona last fall. Narrowing the median between the lanes reduce the number of sites, mostly historical trails, to about 15, the official said.
The ongoing delays has not left the funding in jeopardy, the federal official said.