Mayor Kenoi goes over the map

November 25, 2009 - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
VIDEO by David Corrigan

State and county government officials gathered in Kona to conduct a press conference on Tuesday, and celebrate the successful campaign to fast track Kona's huge Ane Keohokalole Highway to shovel ready status, and receiving $35 million in federal stimulus funds.

Mayor Billy Kenoi said that his fellow mayors from other Hawaii counties were so doubtful that the road planning would be ready in time, they were starting to plot on how their counties might use the $35 million instead.

The mayor gave full credit to his Kona-side steering committee made up of Deputy Managing Director Wally Lau, Public Works Director Warren Lee and Executive Assistant Bobby Command, who worked with consultant Belt Collins Hawaii to complete an environmental assessment, design and engineering for this road.

"These people did what has never been done before in Hawaii County," said Kenoi. "In less than a year, they took a dotted line on a map and brought it to the point where construction can begin."

The team also worked closely with the Hawaii Island Burial Council and Native Hawaiian community. The county says there are known burials in the area of potential impact, and all will be preserved in place. The County notified the burial council early on in the process, and worked closely with cultural descendants to ensure they were comfortable with the treatment of the iwi.

It was the Queen Liliuokalani Trust that donated the property for most of the first phase of this highway, named after Ane Keohokalole, mother of Liliuokalani. Hawaii County worked closely with the trust and descendants of Ane Keohokalole, who recommended respectful treatment and protocol for the treatment of cultural sites and Native Hawaiian iwi.

Also known as the Mid-Level Road, the county says the initial phase of the project creates a two-lane, limited-access roadway that runs parallel to Queen Kaahumanu Highway. The road will also include bike lanes, sidewalks, a multi-use path and be used as a transit route by the county’s Hele-On Bus service. The new highway also facilitates the state’s development of Kamakana Village, an affordable housing project, commercial development by the Queen Liliuokalani Trust to support its children’s programs across the state, and further expansion of Laiopua Village by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

The Mid-Level Road also assists the development of Laiopua 2020’s planned community center, and furthers the efforts of Kamehameha Schools to build a preschool, West Hawaii Health Center to create a permanent clinic, and County Parks and Recreation to develop a regional park at the site of the former planned municipal golf course. It will also create easier access to the new Kona Civic Center, now being built at the intersection of the highway and Kealakehe Parkway. As federal funds become available, plans call for this road to extend northward toward the future University of Hawaii-West Hawaii Center.

“This isn’t so much about building a highway as it is about building a safe and healthy community,” said Kenoi. “Access to jobs, education, health centers and recreation can only strengthen our community.”

The county now has five years to complete the initial phase of what is also referred to as the Mid-Level Road. The county is now advertising for bids on the project.