KAWAIHAE — Fishermen, sailors and anyone with a boat ramp permit will be able to launch their boats from a new small boat ramp once it’s completed on the south side of Kawaihae Harbor sometime next year.
The existing small boat ramp in the harbor’s north section will remain in operation, adjacent to the Kawaihae Canoe Club.
“The Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor (South) Boat Ramp and Loading Docks project was approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources at the July 25, 2014 meeting,” Finn McCall said, the Department of Land and Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation’s (DOBOR) Honolulu-based engineering branch head.
The project was delayed due to mitigation of coral growing in the harbor basin to comply with federal policy of no net loss of coral, according to Rep. Cindy Evans. Additional Kawaihae Harbor issues were discussed by dozens of residents at a community meeting she led with McCall April 30 at Waimea Civic Center.
A solicitation for bids for the new south boat ramp was issued on the State of Hawaii eProcurement System (HIePRO) last Thursday. Bids are due by 2 p.m. Aug. 16 for the $2,000,000 project.
It will include the construction of a 45-foot-wide concrete boat launch ramp with 5-foot-wide aluminum framed loading docks on either side with connection to the existing asphalt harbor access road.
“There is no deadline to award the contract; however, it will be done as soon as practicable after the lowest responsive and responsible bidder has been determined,” McCall said in an email.
The estimated starting date for construction is Nov. 5, with projected completion date of sometime in early August 2019. The boat ramp will be able to accommodate various types of vessels, but not sail boats with deep draft keels, McCall said. There will be no limit on the smallest size boats able to use the new south ramp but the largest will be up to 65 feet.
“This is such good news. It’s been a consistent effort for years now,” Rep. Evans said. “It has taken longer than we expected because of numerous state and federal approvals and permits needed. The vision has been a completed harbor for the boating and fishing communities.”
Currently, a restroom in the harbor’s south area is only open to people who occupy the 24 slips there. It will be opened to the public once the new boat ramp is completed, McCall said.
Kawaihae Harbor was originally built in the early 1990s.
