A sign welcomes arrivals at the Mauna Loa Observatory (FILE PHOTO)

MAUNA LOA, Hawaii – The treacherous final stretch of the Mauna Loa Observatory Road is set to receive $802,500 from the federal government. The announcement came from the office of U.S. Senator Brian Schatz on Wednesday.

Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will receive an $802,500 grant from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration to rebuild the last 2.3 miles of the 18-mile long Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) Road, which suffers from deterioration due to the high altitude and harsh conditions. Prior 2012 funding allowed for 8 miles of the road to be rebuilt, but left the last miles unfinished.

“The Mauna Loa Observatory is a world-class research facility that has provided quality data on rising carbon dioxide levels for over fifty years,” Senator Schatz said. “These funds will improve the condition of the road so researchers can safely access to one of the world’s premiere sites for climate change research.”

The Mauna Loa Observatory is part of the Global Monitoring Division of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory. In its 50 years of operation, MLO has supported hundreds of cooperative research programs with national and international universities, government organizations, and foreign agencies.Office of U.S. Senator Brian Schatz