State highway projects should go on
I’m very disappointed by our Big Island state legislators. They haven’t responded to any of my emails, which expressed concern about the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s decision to defer all new state highway projects. State Sen. Josh Green was the only legislator that truly acknowledged my concerns about the DOT’s shortsighted decision.
There are several proposed highway projects in both east and west Hawaii that are affected by this deferment, such as the widening of Highway 130 in Puna, and the Saddle Road Extension in South Kohala. However, there hasn’t been much public pushback as far as I’ve seen, especially from our island’s state legislators.
I strongly believe they should take a stronger stance against the DOT in this matter. If DOT continues to allocate 90 percent of their budgetary resources toward system preservation, this will result in less construction jobs, and more traffic congestion on our island’s highways over the long term.
These profound negative impacts will stifle economic growth on the Big Island. This should concern our state legislators, as I strongly believe we should continue to invest in our island’s our transportation infrastructure.
Aaron Stene
Kailua-Kona