KAILUA-KONA — Saddle Road is set to lose some of its last sharp curves and dangerous disposition.
Road and Highway Builders, an affiliate of Texas-based Sterling Construction Company, is the low bidder on a six-mile stretch above Hilo, and work is set to start in the next few months, the company announced.
“We estimate the completion time will be two years, so it’s not a quick fix, but hopefully it will be done right this time,” said Jennifer Maxwell, director of investor relations for Sterling.
The rebuild and realignment of that roller-coaster portion of the road between the five and 11 mile markers above Hilo is set to cost $51 million to $57 million. The contract has not yet been awarded but should be finalized within the next couple of weeks, said Tim Sakahara, spokesman for the Hawaii Department of Transportation.
The contract amount is still being finalized, with the initial award at $50.7 million and a government option to add another $6 million by the end of March if funds become available, Sakahara said.
The stretch of highway includes numerous dangerous turns — one in particular that has been the site of several crashes of Hilo-bound vehicles losing control on a sharp, out-sloping bend at the bottom of a steep slope.
The existing road is full of such quirks of “character,” that will give way to a wider, smoother and safer surface.
“Once the contract is signed, we just need a notice to proceed,” Maxwell said. “RHB has done quite a bit of work out there and we are excited to be doing another stretch of this roadway.”
RHB completed an earlier portion of the highway from 2009 to 2011. The last project to remake the rugged cross-island highway was completed in September 2013 at the west end, bringing to $290 million the total poured into the road since 2004. That same year that 41 miles of the new road were finished, the Legislature voted to rename the road the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, after the state’s late senator, famed for his ability to bring home federal money for the project and many others.
