LAUPAHOEHOE, Hawaii – A motorist is about to arrive at the popular Laupahoehoe Point County Park after following the winding Laupahoehoe Access Road, the only means to access the park from Highway 19.

A request for state funds to help repair the damaged portions of the roadway was recently made at the Hawaii County Council. The estimated $3.5 million project was added to a “wishlist” of 8 high priority capitol improvement projects around the Big Island.

Hamakau councilwoman Valerie Poindexter wrote that the money would be used “to hire a Geotechnical Engineer that will: 1) provide recommendations to repair the existing roadway at locations where the roadway is failing; and 2) assess the landslide and rockfall hazards and provide various solutions. Remove rockfall  hazards.”