Construction of the Chain of Craters alternate route will speed up Friday as bulldozers begin making a path over a wall of lava rock covering the road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The $12 million to $15.5 million route, to be re-established between the park and Kalapana as a gravel road, could eventually be the only road in and out of lower Puna if the June 27 lava flow makes its way to the sea.
Construction began on the Kalapana side Sept. 23 but was on hold on the opposite end until the park agreed on a two-lane, rather than one-lane, route earlier this month.
The park will close the end of Chain of Craters Road on Friday as construction begins there.
A “Road Closed” sign surrounded by past lava flows will be removed from the construction path. Park officials said they will keep the sign as part of park history.
The Holei Sea Arch, bathrooms, turnaround area and concession stand will remain accessible.
“We intend to reopen the closed area as soon as it is safe to do so and the bulldozers move closer to Kalapana,” park Superintendent Cindy Orlando said in a press release. “But now is the time to take those last photos of the iconic ‘Road Closed’ sign before it is removed on Friday.”
Nearly 8 miles of the roadway, officially known as Chain of Craters Road inside the park and Highway 130 outside of it, is covered by past flows from the ongoing Puu Oo eruption that is now threatening Pahoa.
Bulldozers working on the Kalapana side have graded nearly 3 miles of the roadway, said Brandon Gonzalez, county deputy Public Works director. The rest is located within the park.
When the work will likely be complete is still being assessed, he said.
Work was put on hold Saturday and Sunday because of Hurricane Ana, Gonzalez said.
Chain of Craters Road opened in 1965, and portions have been blocked or covered by lava for 37 years of its 49-year existence, according to the park.
The road is about 19 miles long inside the park.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.